Lundin Energy Executives is being prosecuted in Sweden for complicity in war crimes in Sudan
By Dominic Chopping
STOCKHOLM – The prosecutor’s office said on Thursday that it has decided to prosecute the chairman and former CEO of Lundin Energy for complicity in war crimes in Sudan, and that they will try to confiscate 1.39 billion Swedish kronor (159.6 million dollars) as it says the company did when it eventually sold its Sudan business.
Chairman Ian H. Lundin, son of the company’s founder, and CEO Alex Schneiter, who has previously been CEO and was vice president of exploration when the company was active in Sudan, denied both crimes in a statement following Thursday’s decision, saying there are no basis for the allegations.
Prosecutors have been investigating Lundin since 2010. Lundin said on Thursday that it was “an incomprehensible decision by the Swedish prosecutor’s office because it is not supported by any evidence.”
Both men are suspected of having been involved in war crimes committed by the then Sudanese regime between 1999 and 2003, in order to secure the company’s oil operations in the south of the country, the prosecutor said.
Lundin began operations in Sudan in 1991 in the midst of a civil war that led to control of the oil fields in the south becoming a hotspot.
Swedish prosecutors say that shortly after finding oil in 1999, the company made a request to the Sudanese government that the military be made responsible for security in the exploration block, despite a peace agreement in place that had handed over responsibility for security in the area to southern military forces and not the Sudanese military.
“This meant that the military would then have to take control of the area with military power,” prosecutors said in a statement. This led to the Sudanese military and a militia group allied with the regime leading offensive military operations to take control of the area, prosecutors said.
These operations included “air bombing from transport planes, shooting civilians from helicopter warships, abduction and looting of civilians and burning of entire villages and their crops,” Swedish prosecutors said.
In response to Thursday’s allegations, Lundin said he was extremely concerned about the investigation’s fairness, reliability and legal basis and about the credibility and accuracy of the reports from NGOs that they say appear to be the basis of the indictment.
“In the firm’s firm view, there is no evidence linking any representative to the alleged primary crimes and this will be fully proven at trial. The company firmly believes it was a positive force for development in Sudan and acted responsibly there. , “Lundin sa.
Prosecutors also claim that the accused continued to promote crimes against the military and its allied militia to enable continued oil operations, including the construction of roads in areas not under military control and to inform the government of planned oil exploration in areas requiring military force control.
Lundin has decided not to stand for re-election as chairman at the next AGM to allow him to focus fully on his defense against the accusations.
Lundin operated in Sudan in partnership with OMV AG, Petronas and the Sudanese state oil company Sudapet. It sold its stake in the business to Petronas in 2003.
At 1323 GMT, the shares were down 5.1% to SEK 336.80.
Write to Dominic Chopping at [email protected]