By Sumeyya Ilanbey and Emmanuel Freudenthal
Federal police have quietly dropped a years-long investigation into an Australian mining company once accused of bribing government officials in the Republic of Congo.
Sundance Resources was under investigation following revelations in this masthead almost a decade ago that the firm may have bribed the country’s president, as well as the mines and geology minister, to progress an iron ore venture that was set to be one of the biggest projects in Africa.
The Mbalam-Nabeba project was set to be the biggest iron ore venture in Africa. Credit: Sundance Resources
“During Operation Downton, AFP investigators encountered several difficulties in gathering evidence that would be admissible during criminal proceedings in Australia regarding the alleged historical offending,” an AFP spokeswoman said.
“This included identifying, accessing and obtaining historical records and data, and the deaths of several potential witnesses/persons of interest in a plane crash in June 2010, prior to the start of the AFP’s investigation. This investigation did not establish sufficient, admissible evidence to refer a brief of evidence to the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions.”
In 2010, Sundance executives, including well-known businessman Ken Talbot, died in a plane crash while travelling in Congo. At the time of Talbot’s death, he was waiting to face court, accused of corruptly paying secret commissions to disgraced Queensland minister Gordon Nuttall.
Central to the foreign bribery allegations was that Sundance had gifted shares worth millions of dollars to the families of the president, Denis Sassou Nguesso, and mining minister, Pierre Oba, between 2006 and 2008, according to leaked documents.
Republic of Congo President Denis Sassou Nguesso, left, is greeted by French President Emmanuel Macron before a meeting at the Elysee Palace in Paris in 2019.Credit: AP
Oba’s support had been critical for the mining firm’s Mbalam-Nabeba iron ore project on the border of Cameroon and the Republic of Congo, where corruption is rife. French newspaper Le Monde in 2017 reported Sundance had allegedly bribed officials in Cameroon.
The minister is a controversial figure, previously implicated in the massacre of civilians in the Republic of Congo, in a case filed in French courts. The president has been accused by international non-governmental organisations of systemic and serious corruption.
When the AFP announced in 2016 that it was investigating the foreign bribery allegations, local activists were overjoyed, feeling confident that Australian police had the resources to scrutinise the case, lay charges and deliver justice.
But Transparency International Australia chief executive Clancy Moore is not surprised the probe hit a stalemate. It was just the latest allegation, he said, that was put in the too-hard basket.
“It’s a shame that the AFP has had to drop the investigation as over the last 20 years, too many allegations of foreign bribery by Australian companies have not been investigated, put in the too-hard basket, or simply fallen over in court,” Moore said.
He hopes Australia’s new foreign bribery laws, which came into force this month, will finally make it easier for police to investigate and prosecute cases. Under the new regime, businesses and directors that fail to prevent an offence could be charged even if it cannot be proven they knew of bribes.
The OECD has been repeatedly warning about Australia’s failure to properly enforce and adequately punish the bribing of foreign officials. The AFP told federal parliament that foreign bribery investigations were often hampered by a range of factors, including complex corporate structures, and complicated because of difficulties in obtaining evidence from the country in which the alleged crime occurred.
In 2019, the AFPdropped an investigation into a $200,000 payment from Tabcorp to the family of the Cambodian prime minister, saying it was not possible to obtain the evidence required for a criminal prosecution.
Its case against Leighton Holdings, which is accused of paying millions of dollars in bribes to win Iraqi government contracts in 2010 and 2011, has still not been resolved.
The executive director of Congolese civil-society organisation Sassoufit Collective, Andrea Ngombet, said he was deeply concerned the case had been dropped.
“The Australian Federal Police’s decision to drop the investigation does not undermine Australian citizens’ security, it speaks out loud: ‘Fear not kleptocrats of the world, you’re safe here. Australia is open to corruption’,” Ngombet said.
“We urge the public … to support our push for the investigation’s reopening. Justice, full accountability and transparency are non-negotiable.”
Samuel Nguiffo, a Cameroonian lawyer and manager of the Centre for Environment and Development in Yaounde, said locals had placed a lot of faith in the AFP’s investigation to understand what had happened during the awarding of the contract.
“We are still in the process of building the mining sector so it is very important to us knowing the truth,” Nguiffo said. “It will help improve future operations. When mining contracts are signed, they’re signed for 25 to 30 years, so you better have it fixed from the beginning so generations don’t suffer from bad decisions.”
Sundance, which was forced to delist from the Australian stock exchange in 2021 after being unable to comply with the listing rules, has been embroiled in a legal dispute with Cameroon and the Republic of Congo over the Mbalam-Nabeba iron project.
It is seeking $8.8 billion in damages over accusations the central African countries violated contracts when they revoked Sundance’s permit and awarded it to Chinese investors.
The Perth-based miner reached an agreement with Congo in July, but its fight with Cameroon remains ongoing. It was contacted for comment.
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