Post #474

🔴Norway's Not So Well-Oiled Affair in Congo🔴 Two Norwegians and an oil company are charged with bribing Congo’s president ⚡️Norwegian prosecutors have charged two citizens and an oil company with paying $25 million in bribes to Congo Republic President Denis Sassou Nguesso and his family in exchange for offshore drilling rights. Norway is often lauded as one of the world’s least corrupt countries, but its own citizens and companies are apparently not against greasing palms in one of Africa’s most resource-rich nations. The alleged corruption centred on a 2016 oil licence application in which the now accused executives from Hemla Africa Holding AS, a subsidiary of Oslo-listed PetroNor, offered Sassou Nguesso and his relatives a quarter-share of revenues expected from a new oil concession. Afterwards, a company which was controlled by the president's family, was given a 25% stake in Hemla E&P Congo, and received dividends of close to $25 million between 2018 and 2024. This case is not new, as PetroNor already became object of an investigation in 2021, but that one was closed due to the lack of evidence. The presidency too has already been accused of taking bribes from other oil producers and traders, including ENI and Gunvor. 👀 Although these Norwegians have not been able to live up to their high moral standards abroad, at least now there's hope that the Norwegian judicial system will do its job properly - which cannot be said about the judicial system of the Congo, where the dubious affairs of the president and his family areconsistently ignored. ➡️ Stay informed - @devilsbelow