Icelanders play hardball on extraditions

OGONE TLHAGE

WINDHOEK



Controversial Icelandic company Samherji says there is no treaty between Namibia and Iceland compelling its employees Ingvar Juliusson and Egil Arnsason, who are wanted in Namibia over the Fishrot bribery scandal, to be extradited.

Warrants of arrest have been issued for the Icelandic pair who had previously been accused of cheating their Namibian partners by changing a joint-venture arrangement in 2017 to introduce a foreign loan from a sister company of Samherji subsidiary, Esja Mauritius. Both are directors of Esja.

Their action allegedly indebted Namibian quota holders Epango, Sinco and Yukor in such a manner that they never owned the Heinaste vessel, which was recently sold, as it was used as mortgaged security against the disputed loan.





The Namibian office of prosecutor-general, in papers filed in court recently, charges that there were reasonable grounds to believe that Esja Holdings, Mermaria Seafood, Saga Seafood and Esja Investments would be convicted of corrupt practices.

The companies are linked to Samherji and are alleged to have benefited from the bribery scandal.

Samherji said in a statement that the Namibian police have made no effort to question its employees in connection with their alleged role in the Fishrot scandal.

Juliusson and Arnsason face possible extradition to Namibia, perhaps under international conventions if any, as no extradition treaty exists directly between the two countries.

The PG's office said Samherji's benefits are estimated at N$547 million. The company is allegedly paid bribes to secure horse-mackerel quotas in Namibia. The PG's office has seized and sold Samherji's Heinaste fishing vessel to Tunacor Fishing.



Extradition attempt

Samherji spokesperson Margrét Ólafsdóttir said in a statement that the Namibian police had not requested to question the employees named in court papers.

“The Namibian authorities have no legal authority to demand the extradition of Icelandic citizens as there is no agreement between the states on the extradition,” Ólafsdóttir said.

“In fact, Namibian officials seem to be fully aware that they will not be able to interfere with Samherji's current or former employees, as the Namibian authorities, or any other authorities acting on their behalf, have made no attempt to contact any of these individuals or the company itself, in Iceland or in other countries, where the employees in question have been working,” Ólafsdóttir said.



Samherji's alleged role

“Due to the legislative restrictions applicable to the allocation of fishing quotas, the only way that Samherji could have obtained quotas was by circumventing the normal rules and procedures applicable in terms of the Marine Resources Act,” the PG's office said in an affidavit.

“A scheme was devised whereby [former fisheries minister Bernhard] Esau would enter into a memorandum of understanding with his Angolan counterpart, purportedly to be a fisheries agreement as provided for in terms of Section 35 of the Marine Resources Act,” the office of the PG explained.