Norwegians charged in Congo bribery case

Prosecutors have charged two Norwegian citizens and an oil firm for allegedly bribing Congo's President Sassou Nguesso with $25m for offshore oil rights in 2016, reports Euro News. The alleged corruption centred on a 2016 oil licence application in which the defendants offered Nguesso and his relatives a quarter-share of the concession's revenues, prosecutor Marianne Djupesland said. ‘The main bribe is related to the fact that the Norwegians accepted that the President and his family would have one quarter of the income from the sale of oil that the licence awarded to Hemla generated,’ Djupesland said, referring to the Norwegian company involved. The charges represent one of the most significant corruption cases linking a Western firm to an African head of state in recent years. International watchdogs have long criticised lack of transparency in Congo's oil industry. Multiple members of Sassou Nguesso's family have faced money laundering investigations in France, including his son Denis Christel and daughter Julienne, who were charged over luxury properties purchased with suspected embezzled state funds. Norway, one of the world's largest oil producers, has strict anti-corruption laws that apply to Norwegian citizens and companies operating abroad. If convicted, the defendants could face substantial prison sentences and fines under Norwegian law. The Republic of the Congo has not commented on the charges.