Page 15 - AfrOil Week 21 2021

AfrOil NEWS IN BRIEF AfrOil

POLICY Tyab was arrested in New York in 2019 by environmental activists.
and pleaded guilty to conspiracy to violate We are proud that the Namibian
US charges Chadian the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. He agreed Government has selected ReconAfrica as one
of over 30 national and international energy
to forfeit criminal proceeds of about US$27
officials in corruption case million. The remaining three defendants companies it trusts to explore the country’s
remain at large, according to the Justice news
natural resource potential in sustainable ways.
A decade-old corruption case involving a release. In seeking the best path forward to address
Canadian junior oil company that bribed Griffiths Energy agreed in a Calgary the country’s energy deficit, the Government
officials in Chad to try to gain access to oil courtroom in 2013 to pay $10.35 million of Namibia is wisely considering many
plays in the north-central African nation is in fines after pleading guilty to bribing the solutions, including oil and gas exploration,
making news again. Chadian officials. It changed its name and was geothermal and biomass assessments, as
The US Department of Justice has later acquired by another company. well as examining wind and solar power
unsealed an indictment against Chad’s former It admitted it drafted an agreement to pay alternatives.
ambassador to the United States and Canada the Chadian ambassador to Canada – who While we appreciate there may be concerns
and Chad’s former deputy chief of mission lived in Washington at the time – $2 million about the impact of the ReconAfrica project
for the U.S. and Canada, charging them with in consulting fees in an attempt to have the in Namibia, we would like to point to some
soliciting and accepting a $2-million bribe deal approved. A new management team important facts that should be considered
and conspiring to launder the bribe payment. that took over at Griffiths Energy during when assessing the project.
According to court documents, the summer of 2011 reported the activity to ReconAfrica adheres fully to the legal
Mahamoud Adam Bechir and Youssouf authorities. obligations within all territories in which it
Hamid Takane, respectively, engaged in the The four defendants named by the operates.
scheme between August 2009 and July 2014, Department of Justice face charges of Allegations have been made in the media
while serving as diplomats based out of the conspiracy to commit money laundering suggesting that this is not the case. These are
Embassy of Chad in Washington and three – Bechir, Takane, and Niam – are categorically untrue.
“These defendants allegedly engaged in also charged with money laundering, each of Canadian practices and technologies,
a multimillion-dollar bribery scheme while which carries a maximum potential penalty of especially as they pertain to resource
in the United States and then used the U.S. 20 years in prison. exploration and development and ESG
financial system to launder the bribes to Niam is also charged with conspiracy to practices, are widely regarded as among the
conceal their conduct,” said Acting Assistant violate the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, best in the world for environmental protection
Attorney General Nicholas McQuaid of the which carries a maximum potential penalty of and safety, and we are bringing those
Justice Department’s Criminal Division in a five years in prison. innovations to every aspect of our project.
news release. The indictment was returned by the grand ReconAfrica’s work in Namibia is guided
“The charges unsealed today demonstrate jury in February 2019. by – and under the constant review and
the department’s determined commitment to CANADIAN PRESS approval of – representatives of a wide range
investigate and prosecute corruption wherever of government Ministries and regulatory
it occurs and the officials who use our agencies including: the Ministry of Mines &
financial system to launder their bribes.” COMPANIES Energy (MME), the Ministry of Agriculture,
Canadian citizen Naeem Tyab, a co- Water & Land Reform (MAWLR), the
founder of Calgary-based Griffiths Energy ReconAfrica responds to Ministry of Environment, Forestry & Tourism
International Inc., is also charged in the (MEFT), the Ministry of Home Affairs,
indictment for allegedly arranging for the National Geographic article Immigration, Safety & Security, and others.
bribe to be paid to ambassador Bechir’s wife, The National Geographic article published
co-defendant Nouracham Bechir Niama, Reconnaissance Energy Africa Ltd. provides a on May 21, 2021 describes a complaint to the
in early 2011 via a contract for consulting factual response to National Geographic’s false SEC purported to have been filed on May 5,
services that she never actually provided. and defamatory article May 21, 2021, written 2021.

Week 21 27•May•2021 www. NEWSBASE .com P15