Samherji calls N$18.3 billion Fishcor lawsuit baseless

Icelandic fishing company Samherji says a lawsuit filed against it and related companies by a Scottish firm acting on behalf of Namibia’s state-owned fishing company Fishcor is baseless.

Scottish company Restitution Litigation Limited is seeking to recover money from Samherji through the British courts.

The company has filed a lawsuit in London claiming up to US$1 billion, or more than N$18.3 billion, from the Icelandic fishing company and related parties.

According to the claim, Fishcor would receive 75% of any damages awarded, while the remaining 25% would go to Restitution Litigation Limited and its funders.

Restitution chief executive Katherine Mulhern says the case is based on allegations that Samherji, through corruption and unlawful conduct, took money from Fishcor and other Namibians while it was involved in fishing activities in the country between 2012 and 2019.

“This case is about returning money taken from the Fishcor and the Namibian people,” she says.

Mulhern says the claim alleges that Samherji used bribes and corruption to obtain benefits from Namibia illegally through fishing quotas and other means.

She says state-owned fishing company Fishcor has ceded its claim against Samherji to Restitution Litigation Limited, allowing the Scottish firm to pursue the lawsuit.

The defendants in the matter are Samherji hf., Samherji Holding ehf., Samherji’s British subsidiaries Onward Investment Limited, Onward Fishing Company Limited and UK Fisheries Limited, as well as former Samherji chief executive Thorsteinn Már Baldvinsson.

Responding to questions, Samherji chief executive Baldvin Thorsteinsson says the case has no basis and the company is defending itself in court.

“As I stated in the media on 22 December, Samherji considers this action unfounded. These are serious allegations. The company has defended itself in the case and will present its position in court,” he says.

Mulhern says the case against Samherji is largely based on information that emerged from the Fishrot investigations.

The Fishrot matter has been under investigation in Namibia and Iceland since 2019, with several Namibian and Icelandic individuals facing criminal charges or being treated as suspects in the investigations.

At the centre of the investigations are allegations that companies linked to Samherji paid bribes to decision-makers in Namibia in exchange for valuable horse mackerel quotas between 2012 and 2019.

The investigation in Iceland has been completed, but the district prosecutor is still to decide whether to prosecute.

Mulhern says Restitution Litigation Limited obtained the claim on which the case is based from Fishcor.

Under the agreement, she says, Namibia would receive 75% of any money recovered from Samherji, while Restitution Litigation Limited and the investors funding the case would receive 25%.

If the case is unsuccessful, Mulhern says, there will be no cost to the Namibian state.

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