Samherji Apologizes for ‘Reprehensible Business Practices’
Þorsteinn Már Baldvinsson. mbl.is/Gunnlaugur
The Icelandic fishing and fish processing company Samherji hf. publishes a full-page ad in Morgunblaðið today, apologizing for “reprehensible business practices” in Namibia. The statement is signed by Þorsteinn Már Baldvinsson, CEO of Samherji.
“We won’t let such a thing happen again,” the statement reads.
In November of 2019, when Wikileaks documents were published, Samherji’s operation in Namibia came under scrutiny, due to alleged bribery in exchange for fishing quotas.
On Samherji’s website, a more detailed statement has been posted by Þorsteinn Már, which includes the following:
“It is my and Samherji’s firm position that no criminal offences were committed in Namibia by companies on our behalf or their employees, apart from the conduct that the former managing director has directly confessed to and acknowledged. Nonetheless, as Samherji’s top executive, I am responsible for allowing the business practices in Namibia to take place. It has upset our staff, friends, families, business partners, customers and others in our community. I am very sorry that this happened, and I sincerely apologize to all those involved, both personally and on behalf of the company. Now it’s important to ensure that nothing like this happens again. We will certainly strive for that.”
To view the full statement, see here.
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