Swedish oil executives charged with complicity with war crimes

The Swedish Prosecution Authority has charged the chairman and the former CEO of oil and gas company Lundin Energy with complicity in war crimes carried out in southern Sudan between 1999 and 2003. The charges, which could have serious implications for D&O insurance, have been challenged by the company, which describes the case as “unfounded and fundamentally flawed”. According to Swedish prosecutors, Lundin had asked the Sudanese government to secure a potential oilfield on its behalf, knowing that this would involve seizing the area by force. This made the executives complicit in the war crimes subsequently carried out by the Sudanese army against civilians, claim prosecutors. “What constitutes complicity in a criminal sense is that they made these demands despite understanding or, in any case being indifferent to, the military and the militia carrying out the war in a way that was forbidden according to international humanitarian law,” said the prosecution authority in a statement. The prosecutors have also filed a claim for SEK1.39bn ($161.7m), which is equivalent to the profit made from the sale of Lundin’s Sudanese business in 2003. The case was opened in 2010 following a report published by Dutch pressure group PAX, which called for an investigation of Lundin’s activity in Sudan. Lundin has issued its own statement challenging the charges against chairman Ian Lundin and former CEO Alex Schneiter, who is now a board member. “There is no evidence linking any company representative to the alleged primary crimes in this case and we see no circumstance in which a corporate fine or forfeiture could become payable given this fact,” stated president and CEO Nick Walker. “The company intends to firmly contest the claims for a corporate fine and forfeiture of economic benefits and does not foresee any impact on the operational and financial guidance that has been set out previously,” he added. The statement lists six reasons why the company thinks the case if fundamentally flawed, including the assertion that “the prosecutor’s statement of the criminal act is extremely vague and inexplicit”, and that “after 11 years of investigation, it still does not meet basic requirements under Swedish law”. Lundin Energy also casts doubt on the PAX report that played a part in opening the case. According to the oil company’s lawyers, the report cannot be relied upon as evidence in court because “it is primarily intended for opinion formation and activism, and lacks credibility, accuracy and reliability”. The statement ends with a comment from the company’s senior defence counsel Biörn Riese. “While it is extremely disappointing and concerning that the Swedish Prosecution Authority has now issued an indictment instead of closing the investigation, which should have been done a long time ago, at least we now see the beginning of the end of all this,” he states. “We are convinced that the court will find the Swedish Prosecution Authority’s motion to be without any merit.” The company has also stated that Ian Lundin will not be seeking re-election to his chairman role at the next general meeting.

Swedish oil executives charged with complicity with war crimes

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Want to read this article?

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