A REPORT ON THE LUNDIN CASE
Lundin Oil, its former CEO and Chairman of the Board are suspected of complicity in alleged war crimes committed in Block 5A in southern Sudan 1999-2003.
From the outset, Lundin has always maintained that none of its representatives committed or were complicit in any international crimes in Sudan.
The allegations and basis for this investigation are seriously flawed as set out in outline in this independent report, authored by the Chambers of 9 Bedford Row and RPC Solicitors.
A Report on the Lundin Case
“It's very important, once a narrative is established, that we don't believe that the narrative is the truth. The truth is the evidence and the facts.”
Steven Kay, QC 10 May 2021
Allegations
Nearly 20 years have passed since the publication of Christian Aid’s “Scorched Earth: Oil and War in Sudan" report in March 2001, which contained serious and wide-ranging allegations of suspected complicity in alleged international crimes by Lundin and other oil companies in Sudan. These allegations were raised again in 2003 by Human Rights Watch and again in 2010 by the European Coalition on Oil in Sudan (ECOS), a campaigning organization, in its report “Unpaid Debt: The Legacy of Lundin, Petronas and OMV in Block 5A, Sudan 1997-2003”.
Christian Aid's allegations were exposed to be without foundation. A close analysis of the NGO allegations raises serious concerns about their independence and the reliability of the information cited. Many of the reports rely on biased and/or anonymous hearsay evidence and make assertions on the basis of unattributed sources using poor methodology.
Pursuant to the standards of international courts, such reports would not be admissible in an international criminal investigation or a prosecution.
Background
Lundin entered Block 5A, Unity State in 1997 with the signing of the Khartoum Peace Agreement (KPA) that contained assurances that all parties would refrain from armed conflict. Lundin assessed and expected that it would be operating in a peaceful environment.
The EU and the UN supported a policy of constructive engagement and actively encouraged oil companies and others to invest in Sudan. But the KPA did not hold and there was a resumption of violence in southern Sudan, including in and around Block 5A.
A review of events shows that the conflicts in Sudan were between different people, in different areas, at different times, for different reasons. To put the context of this kaleidoscopic conflict into one that holds foreign oil companies as responsible is a clear misrepresentation of the history of Sudan.
Investigation
The Swedish Prosecutor announced a preliminary investigation on 21st June 2010, two weeks after the publication of the ECOS report “Unpaid Debt”. The investigation was opened despite the fact that nothing material had changed since Lundin’s exoneration in 2001.
This investigation has been unreasonably long. It was not until the end of 2016 that the Company Chairman and CEO at the time, were formally declared to be under suspicion.
After 11 years, the Prosecutor has yet to reach a conclusion and has changed the original contents of his suspicion sheet on several occasions, which suggests the evidence to back up his case is lacking.
Timeline
The timeline outlines key events in the history of the Sudan conflict and notable international involvement that shape the larger context around Lundin’s presence in Sudan.