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afrol News, 25 October - One week after the breathtaking UN report on illegal resource exploitation in Congo Kinshasa, the alleged perpetrators are making their counterclaims. Accused of forgery, theft, money laundering and being a key member of the "elite network", Oryx Natural Resources asks the report's editors to repeat their allegations "without UN immunity". Oryx Natural Resources today in a statement "refuted allegations" made by a UN Panel in a Report to the Security Council on the exploitation of mineral wealth in Congo Kinshasa (DRC). As a result of the report's publication, and "the immense damage it has caused Oryx's reputation," the company was "reviewing all available legal options," the statement says. The UN report maintains that Oryx and its Chief Executive, Tamer Bin Said Ahmed Al-Safari, are "prominent members" of the "elite network" controlling the illegal resource exploitation in Congo's government controlled areas. The revenues from these areas goes to corrupt government officials, the Zimbabwean armed forces and facilitating, dubious businessmen. In the latter category, the names of Oryx and Mr Al-Safari are among the most mentioned in the report. According to the UN report, Oryx and its Chief Executive primarily facilitate the illegal resource exploitation of the Zimbabwean army - an ally to the Kinshasa government. Oryx, the UN says, is being used as a front for the Zimbabwean army and its military company, OSLEG, which in fact is supposed to own the 49 percent of the Bengalines diamond company that is publicly claimed by Onyx. Of this, the UN had "documentary evidence". Onyx, through its executive, further is supposed to have close contacts with the Zimbabwean network of army officers and politicians involved in the Congolese diamond trade. Mr Al-Safari had given "material and moral support" to Zimbabwean Minister of Defence, Cede Sidney Sekeramayi "during the parliamentary elections of 2000," according to as letter from the Minister. Onyx was supplying the Congolese and Zimbabwean armies, the UN had found. In exchange for all its services, the company was allowed to participate in the "asset stripping of state mining companies." Huge concessions were given, revenues of joint ventures were not shared equally with state companies, no tax was paid and currencies and other values passed in an out of the Congolese border without state interference. Geoffrey White, Deputy Managing Director of Oryx, today strongly refuted the chain of evidence presented by the UN panel. The allegations against Oryx were "completely baseless," he said. Oryx could produce "documentation to refute all the allegations," however the UN panel was "not required to produce any documents to substantiate their allegations." As the report was "extremely damaging" to the company, Mr White was frustrated by the fact the panel had legal immunity. The New York office of the company therefore lamented there were no ways to have its name cleared, but would however consider a way to proceed with a legal challenge to the report. Mr White further mentioned he had requested a meeting and travelled to the UN panel's offices in Nairobi, Kenya in July 2002. He there had met with three UN panel members "to ensure that there were no further UN errors regarding Oryx's business." Following that meeting, Oryx had written to the UN panellists "to confirm the contents of their meeting and provide them with all the relevant documents that had been discussed." The panel however had not taken the evidence presented by Onyx into consideration. The company continues to refute UN allegation point by point. The statement says it was "not true" that Oryx was being used as front for the Zimbabwe army's company OSLEG in the 49 percent ownership of Bengalines. "Incorporation documents" of Onyx and "a copy of the Bengalines share register were provided to the panel," the company claims. Demonstrating its ownership in Bengalines and therefore its knowledge of the joint venture's dispositions, Oryx refuted the allegations against Bengalines of laundering diamonds smuggled from Angola and Sierra Leone. "Not true," Onyx says, Bengalines had never been "involved in any smuggling or laundering of diamonds." Neither had Oryx, by the way. Also the illegal foreign exchange transactions Oryx officials had allegedly made for Bengalines were completely legal. An Oryx employee regularly had transported parcels of US$ 500,000 at a time into the Congo, "without declaring them to the Congolese authorities." This is illegal in Congo Kinshasa. Totally normal, says the Oryx statement. Two Oryx "ex-employees" were carrying the "cash for salaries to the mine" as the company operates a diamond mine in the country. The mine had "created over 1,000 employees who are all paid cash in US dollars. There has been war in the DRC for a number of years. Up until 2000 there were no banking facilities in the DRC. As a result, [Oryx] had to physically bring cash into the DRC in order to pay wages and local operating costs." It was all legal. The company defends itself in point after point of the UN allegations - sometimes demonstrating great credibility, sometimes only being categorical in its denial. The half-hearted denials of not having business relationships with other members of "the elite network" however seem to fall short of the main accusation of the UN panel. If Oryx's statement is right, the company still is the main shareholder of Bengalines, which constitutes a central piece of the "elite network" aiming at stripping assets from Congolese state companies. According to company officials, Bengalines' diamond concessions would be worth at least US$ 2 billion if they were put into full production. State revenues are close to zero. Observers told afrol News that "serious mining companies" were now mostly avoiding Congo Kinshasa, which is in a state of war and has no functioning state apparatus. "Investing now in the DRC involves great risks but can create enormous revenue, if you play by the current rules." These "current rules" involved ample contact with the warring parties. The UN panel, seemingly thinking along the same lines, had considered "an embargo or a moratorium banning the export of raw materials" originating in the Congo. This was however turned down, given "the humanitarian impact of such restrictive measures." Instead, sanctions against persons and companies listed as the "elite network" are proposed. Mr Al-Safari and Oryx are on this list, to be discussed by the UN Security Council. Meanwhile, Oryx had invited the UN panel to repeat the allegations in a public forum outside the UN and without UN immunity, but the panel had said no. The company hoped this would have made legal procedure possible, just as in October 2001. Then, a BBC documentary had found that Oryx was a front for the terrorist group al-Qaeda. A legal defamation process had forced the BBC to "apologise unreservedly" to the Oman-based company. While Mr White of Oryx says "I understand the BBC continues to investigate how it could have been so misled," the British broadcaster claims Oryx is "riddled with inconsistencies." The Oman company demands more than £6 million in damages for having been libelled.
Sources: Based on Oryx, UN
sources and afrol archives
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