Norway charges oil firm, executives over alleged Congo bribes for offshore licence

Offshore licence

The accused company, Hemla Africa Holding, is a fully owned indirect subsidiary of Oslo-listed oil group PetroNor and controls a 20 per cent stake in the offshore PNGF Sud licence via Hemla EP Congo. PetroNor said in a statement it categorically contested the indictment and welcomed the chance to have the case examined in court.

The company's share price was down 10.5 per cent as of 15:16 GMT. MGI International, which was controlled by the president's family, was given a 25 per cent stake in Hemla EP Congo, and MGI received dividends of close to $25 million between 2018 and 2024, according to the indictment seen by Reuters.

Other payments took place in parallel with the application for the oil licence in Congo, investigators said.

Hemla co-founders Knut Soevold and Gerhard Ludvigsen, who will stand trial alongside the company, denied any criminal guilt and will defend themselves "with full force", their lawyers Halvard Helle and Arild Dyngeland said in a statement.

"All agreements with the Congolese company are made on commercial terms and purely commercial considerations, and have nothing to do with corruption," the lawyers said.