Swedish prosecutors raid corporate HQ – looking for further evidence of crimes against humanity and environment committed in South Sudan
Indictments of two top Lundin execs expected soon, report Sweden‘s media.
January 2, 2019
Sweden‘s National Office of Prosecution raided on December 19th the headquarters of Lundin Petroleum in Stockholm. The second of its kind, the raid was conducted to amass further evidence of the “crimes against humanity and the environment“ allegedly committed in South Sudan by the company in 1997 – 2003. Being held accountable for these crimes are chairman Ian Lundin and CEO Alex Schneiter.
According to Swedish media, the raid in December yielded enough proof of contraventions of international law to make indictments of Ian Lundin and Alex Schneiter increasingly likely.
The list of charges faced by the two execs is long and grave. They are accused of being complicit to and condoning the expulsion of some 200,000 South Sudanese from their homes. Facilitated by such horrors as mass killing, torture, abduction and rape, this expulsion was – in the view of the prosecutors – undertaken to ease and expedite the company’s exploration of oil fields in the country.
This complicity took the form of commissioning the South Sudanese army and local militias to commit these acts – and of paying them generously for having done such, reports the European Coalition on Oil in South Sudan (ECOS).
ECOS pegged the number of people killed – either directly or through disease and starvation – during Lundin’s exploration for oil at 12,000.
The consequences of being convicted of such crimes would be very serious for Lundin and Schneiter – and for the world’s business community as a whole.
The two Lundin execs could well get life sentences, should they be found guilty.
Should Lundin and Schneiter in fact go to jail, managers of many other leading companies could soon be facing charges of a similar nature in their home countries. The principle driving the Lundin case is very simple – and stunningly comprehensive in its implications.
Top brass is accountable in courts of criminal law for any breaches of law – via corruption, environmental malfeasance, denial of human rights or other kind of crimes – committed by any part of their corporate empires anywhere in the world.
The implications of this principle are currently being tested in a large number of countries. For further information: https://unpaiddebt.org/the-legal-framework-of-the-war-crimes-case-against-lundin-petroleum/
For further reading:
https://unpaiddebt.org/unpaid-debt-report/
https://www.thelocal.se/20181019/swedish-oil-executives-chargescomplicity-in-war-crimes
https://www.avanza.se/placera/redaktionellt/2018/12/28/ny-razzia-mot-lundin-petroleum.html
https://www.aftonbladet.se/nyheter/a/jP2vJn/gront-ljus-for-atal-mot-lundintoppar
https://www.ft.com/content/c7295ae6-d2cf-11e8-a9f2-7574db66bcd5
