(Dagbladet): A highly trusted officer of Defence Logistics Organisation (FLO) is charged to the IRS for gross corruption after allegedly accepting over 150 $ 000 private from the Nigerian buyers of support KNM Horten and six missile torpedo boats – called MTBs. The man has had primary responsibility for selling old boats and other discarded material that the defense wants to get rid of. He denies having done anything illegal.
Not later than yesterday went Defence Ine Eriksen Søreide out and pointed to the incredible server when NTB asked for an explanation of how ten Norwegian decommissioned naval vessels have been able to port with insurgents and para military groups in Africa. E-mail correspondence Dagbladet has disclosed shows that man no means operated in a vacuum, and that the upper echelons of the ministry was great enthusiasm for sales of MTBs.
“You have to congratulate the two tireless gentlemen so much. Such people need defense “, wrote Director General Fridthjof Søgaard in an email to a subordinate major in the Ministry, which was responsible for following up sales. The two recipients of the congratulations it is now accused man and his immediate superior.
In email exchanges discussing how Defence Minister Espen Barth Eide will be informed about the joyful news. They agree to send Eide called a orenteringsnotat about the case, and that Søgaard would try to take it up orally with Eide already the next day.
They also discussed the extent to which they can start the celebration.
“It får’n say, Maybe we should not celebrate or flag in the media, before all the money has come in?” , wrote Søgaard with a smiley.
For here there was talk that the military gained revenue from the sale of old boats that they really had depreciated value of.
“Believe it or not, yesterday came into 22,200,000 money account from CAS Global, as the first payment for Hauk class MTBs. The remaining 5 million are expected shortly. That means that FLO has managed to land this sale, which I had no great faith in “, writes Major.
Warlord
General Fridthjof Søgaard is one of veterans in the Ministry of Defence and had at this time responsibility for Defence Economics. Sources in the defense refer to him as the agency’s own “finance minister”.
– With the knowledge we in 2012 had about the case and about the case officers in FLO, I stand still fully inside for what I wrote, said Søgaard comments.
Dagbladet numerous articles revealed how warlord Government “Tompolo” Ekpemupolo has received buy six former Norwegian missile torpedo boats and the great support KNM ‘Horten “which now is part of a privately run paramilitary patrol fleet.
The six MTBs were sold for around 28 million, while support KNM Horten was sold for 46.4 million dollars. All sales went through the British shell company CAS Global.
The Norwegian oil veteran Olaf Ljøsne, who was chief executive of Shell in Nigeria for five years, has previously said to Dagbladet what he thinks Tompolo shall marine vessels.
– The Norwegian boats gives him the power to control the entire Nigerian oil exports. He is now the sovereign strongest power factor in the Niger Delta and anytime closing or throttling the country’s oil revenues, says Ljøsne.
He says that Tompolo demonstrete this in July last year, when he blocked the country’s gas exports, and the operator had pay approximately 1 billion (140 million USD) to get shipping started.
Tompolo was former leader of MEND guerrillas who have also hijacked oil rigs and taken Norwegian sailors hostage.
Visit from Nigeria
Also before the last trade Tompolo was a fact was the Defense Ministry involved in the sales process. A delegation from Nigeria wanted to come and look at KNM Horten and it was much back and forth on how this visit with inspection Håkonsvern in Bergen, could be carried out.
“ Hello, we have discussed the Nigerian visit today. Bottom line here is that we can not give any pre-commitment regarding license. As you know, this is a catch-all assessment …. (…) Under this assumption, we consider it okay that Nigerians inspects vessels (s) when it suits for FLO , “writes a senior adviser UD in an email which also went to Gunnar Heløe the Defense Ministry.
Heløe was then deputy chief of the department for international defense cooperation. With the “catch all” refers counselor provisions on export licenses for the sale of any goods to areas of war or where war threatens.
Civil War
Before Nigerians were allowed to buy KNM Horten was signed a sales contract with the US security company Osprey Global Solutions. The American ex-general David L. Grange planned to use the ship during the civil war which then ravaged Libya. Defense would be happy to sell and the contract was signed, but Grange never managed to cough up the 46 million crowns were agreed for the boat.
Documents show that both defense chief Harald Sunde and the top political leadership of the Defense Ministry was informed about the sale. Shipbroker, Lager Yacht Brokerage, even wrote directly to then Defence Minister Espen Barth Eide and requested more time to get financing in place. They had already received three postponements deadline to pay an advance of 4.6 million.
Telling orientation
The broker explains that the general Grange is in Libya and that he together with partners in the Transitional Council is still determined to buy KNM ‘Horten “. Transition Council shall according to the broker should have modified its contract with the US security company, where the Norwegian ship now be equipped as a hospital ship to use for humanitarian support and “acute medical operations.” At this point, the defense lost patience, and canceled the contract with the Americans.
“LYB (broker) did not pay within the deadline, but has requested postponement three times, respectively, from August 26 to September 16, from 18 September to 14 October and from 15 October to 22. November. LYB announced on November 23 that the current contract was not possible to observe this time. Armed Forces announced therefore LYB that they were no longer bound by contract “, wrote ultimately Defense Ministry on 23 March 2012 in a secret briefing write to Secretary of State Roger Ingebrigtsen, with a copy to Chief of Defence Harald Sunde.
In briefing writes Defense Department that they have considered the case as an materiellforvaltningssak “without any kind of security policy matters related to it.” Thursday is three defense ministers, three foreign ministers and two defense chiefs among those who must explain himself to Standing Committee on Scrutiny and Constitutional Affairs. Espen Barth Eide, who was defense minister when MTBs were sold, would not comment on the matter before the hearing.
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