‘Fishrot’ lawyer linked to major quota deal

New information has revealed that a lawyer representing one of the accused in Namibia’s ‘Fishrot’ scandal had a stake in a company that allegedly benefited from a free 30-year fishing quota deal. Marén de Klerk and two South African businessmen were key beneficiaries of a US1.09bn deal with the state-owned National Fishing Corporation. De Klerk previously represented former Cabinet Minister Sacky Shanghala in the high-profile corruption case. The Namibian reports that company documents – including the shareholders' agreement and company ownership structure – reveals De Klerk's stake in a company that allegedly benefited from the quota deal. De Klerk, who owns law firm De Klerk, Horn & Coetzee, represented Shanghala in 2017. The Namibian says it understands the government – through Fishcor – poured nearly US$38m in start-up capital and loan guarantees into the joint venture called Seaflower Pelagic Processing in 2017. Documents show the government received a raw deal as a minority owner while shouldering the costs of a majority shareholder in the joint venture set up in 2017.