By Nick McKenzie, Richard Baker and Emmanuel Freudenthal
The alleged international bribery scandal enveloping listed Australian miner Sundance Resources has dramatically widened, with new evidence suggesting the firm may have bribed Congo's Mines and Geology Minister as well as the country's President.
Leaked documents obtained by Fairfax Media reveal Sundance gifted millions of dollars worth of shares to a company directed by the brother of Republic of Congo mining minister Pierre Oba.
The mining minister's support has been critical for Sundance to progress the firm's Nabeba Congo iron ore venture, which has the potential to be one of the biggest iron ore projects in Africa.
The Mbalam Camp iron ore project in the Congo. Sundance is seeking to restructure its finances to keep its African project alive.Credit: Sundance Resources
Meanwhile, a research fellow at the US Congress-funded National Endowment for Democracy in Washington, Elie Smith, has revealed that two Sundance representatives told him in a meeting in the Congo that they had "promised a bribe to [mining minister] Pierre Oba and the family of the President" [Denis Sassou Nguesso] to win government backing for the Australian company.
Mr Smith, a former prominent Congolese journalist, said he would provide the Australian Federal Police a sworn statement about this disclosure. The two company representatives made the comments after they asked him to organise a meeting with Congolese officials in around 2014.
He said he believed Sundance had bribed the ruling regime in a manner that raised serious corruption and human rights concerns in a country blighted by oppression and graft.
Mines and Geology Minister Pierre Oba is a controversial figure in Africa, having been previously implicated in a massacre of civilians in the Congo in a case filed in French courts.
Republic of Congo President Denis Sassou Nguesso, left, pictured with Chinese President Xi Jinping.Credit: AP
Fairfax Media has obtained documents that reveal that a mysterious Congolese company called Cominvest was created by minister Oba's younger brother. In October 2008, Sundance agreed to give Australian shares to the company.
Sundance's former senior figures, including former African consultant and Perth geologist David Porter, have claimed to Fairfax Media they did not know who was behind Cominvest.
The leaked documents, which are in French, show that "Monsieur Corneille Oba" – the mining minister's younger brother – helped form Cominvest and was formally appointed a director during a meeting "across from the Russian embassy, Brazzaville" in October 2008.
The revelations come after Fairfax Media in August uncovered a suspected plot by former Sundance figures to bribe Congo's President, Mr Nguesso, by gifting shares worth millions of dollars to his family via a frontman. That frontman, banker Fabrice Sil, is also named as a Cominvest director alongside Corneille Oba in the leaked documents.
The central allegation facing Sundance is that it gifted Sundance shares worth millions to the families of the President and the mining minister to ensure they granted Sundance exclusive mining licences and government support.
The revelations in August sparked a federal police probe and forced Sundance to launch its own investigation into the share deals, which were brokered between 2006 and 2008 and led to large parcels of Sundance shares being given to Cominvest between 2008 and 2012.
The federal police also announced it was launching an anti-foreign bribery taskforce in Perth, which is investigating Sundance but will also have responsibility for other WA companies accused of corporate corruption.
Many mining companies headquartered in Perth are exposed to major bribery risks in Africa and Asia.
While none of the former Sundance managers and directors with links to suspect share deals would comment publicly when previously contacted by Fairfax Media, several privately insisted they had no idea who controlled the mysterious company that received the three parcels of Sundance shares.
If this scenario is correct, it suggests a major and inexplicable due diligence failure by Sundance while operating in a country where bribery risks are well known.
It is a breach of Australian bribery laws to give a financial benefit such as shares to a foreign politician, or any person fronting for them, in return for a business advantage.
In 2012, Sundance announced publicly that Mines and Geology Minister Pierre Oba had "recommended that the Council of Ministers approve the issuing of the mining permit."
"Sundance appreciates the approval and recommendation by the minister, which brings the beginning of development of Nabeba one step closer, creating significant economic, financial and social benefits for the people of the… Congo ," Sundance's CEO Giulio Casello said in the 2012 announcement.
There is no suggestion Mr Casello, who joined Sundance in November 2010, was party to the suspect share deals as they were brokered before he joined the company.
In a statement to Fairfax Media, Mr Casello said the revelations about the involvement of the Congo mining minister's brother would be investigated by Sundance in addition to the bribery allegations involving Congo's president.
"We have commissioned an independent law firm to conduct a thorough assessment of events involving the company between 2006 and 2008.
The information regarding Corneille Oba will be examined as part of this assessment, which is in its early stages.
We continue to co-operate fully with the Australian Federal Police investigation on the same matter," Mr Casello said.
Sundance is seeking to restructure its finances to keep its African project – a huge iron ore venture spanning the Congo and Cameroon border – alive. The project has been impacted by falling iron ore prices and large capital costs.
Got a tip for Fairfax Media's investigative team? email nmckenzie@fairfaxmedia.com.au