New reports claim Samherji CEO Thorsteinn Mar Baldvinsson had close contact with Jóhannes Stefánsson, the company’s former director of operations in Namibia, during the time the Fishrot Scandal occurred, despite having previously denied regular communication with Stefansson during that period.
The Fishrot Scandal, originally publicized in 2019, featured Icelandic fishing firm Samherji allegedly bribing public officials to attain large fishing quotas in Namibia and evade taxes in the process.
Stefánsson released almost 30,000 files regarding the scandal through Wikileaks in 2019 and admitted to bribing public officials on behalf of the Icelandic conglomerate. Baldvinsson was originally suspended from his CEO role pending a review, but he was reinstated to the position in March of 2020 during the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Baldvinsson denied Stefánsson’s allegations and claimed he had little direct contact with the whistleblower, maintaining that Stefánsson acted independently.
However, new findings by Icelandic investigative media outlet Heimildin shed new light on their relationship.
In an 18 October article, Heimildin said that Icelandic police have recovered thousands of text messages from Stefánsson’s computer, around 1,500 of which were exchanged between Baldvinsson and Stefánsson.
Heimildin said it does have any specifics of what the messages said.
Baldvinsson refuted the new allegations in a statement to Samherji’s employees published on the company’s website.
“Today, Heimildin published a review of the case that has been under investigation for five years. They claim that the information sheds new light on the facts of the case. That is not the case,” he said. “As I have said before, we will vigorously defend ourselves against these allegations, but the matter will not be pursued in the media.”
These revelations follow Samherji urging the High Court of London to force artist Oddur Eysteinn Friðriksson to take his online campaign titled "We're Sorry!" off the internet.
The artist used Samherji branding to make it look as though the company was officially apologizing for its alleged wrongdoings during the Fishrot Scandal.
Several Namibians, including former ministers, are facing trial in the southwest African nation for accepting money in return for giving quotas to the Samherji. In Iceland, a number of Samherji executives, including Baldvinsson and Stefánsson, remain under investigation for their alleged conduct in Namibia.
