Hands off my forest!
28/01/2005 — In June and November 2004, Greenpeace
International released two reports on the
activities of the timber company Danzer Group
and its African subsidiary Interholco. These
documents showed that the Liberian trading
partners of the Danzer Group, with headquarters
in Baar (Canton of Zug, Switzerland), were
involved in highly questionable activities.
As late as last year Interholco still traded
with Gus Kouwenhoven, who is accused of playing
a key role in arms trafficking in Liberia
and has therefore been banned from travelling
by the UN Security Council. In the meantime,
the Swiss Federal Council has imposed stricter
measures with regards to Liberia and imposed
financial sanctions against Gus Kouwenhoven
and other individuals.
On the basis of two complaints filed by Greenpeace
Switzerland against Danzer Group's subsidiary
Interholco and other persons involved, the
Swiss Attorney General began a formal investigation
into companies of the Danzer Group, as well
as individuals. The complaints accused Danzer
Group of being involved in: 1) bribery of
foreign public officials, and; 2) suspected
forgery.
On 21 December 2004, the Office of the Attorney
General ordered the closure of the preliminary
investigation into the alleged bribery of
foreign public officials (1). All official
documents, including the aforementioned decision,
were handed over to the public prosecutor's
office of the Canton (District) of Zug, Switzerland.
The complaint of suspected forgery (2) still
remains to be investigated by the competent
authorities of the Canton (District) of Zug.
The documents submitted by Greenpeace to the
Office of the Attorney General support the
suspicion that employees of a Danzer Group
company in Switzerland were involved in the
forgery of official government certificates.
Greenpeace has not yet been given the grounds
upon which the Attorney General closed the
preliminary investigation into the alleged
bribery of foreign public officials (1). Greenpeace
only filed the complaint and therefore does
not enjoy the rights of a party in the legal
proceedings. Danzer Group has so far refused
to provide Greenpeace with a copy of the Attorney
General's decision. Furthermore, the Danzer
Group has not given a satisfactory explanation
of the evidence put forward by Greenpeace
in its reports. The complaints to the Attorney
General by Greenpeace, in particular with
regards to the activities as described in
the travel report written by one of the directors
of the Danzer Group, remains unexplained.
Greenpeace has obtained further documents
indicating that Interholco (a subsidiary of
the Danzer Group) traded Liberian timber from
the Oriental Timber Company (OTC), although
the Danzer Group, when asked directly, denied
trading with companies involved in arms trafficking.
Interholco also maintained close trading relationships
with the Cameroon company, MMG which has been
documented of illegal logging activities.
Greenpeace will continue to closely scrutinise
the activities of the Danzer Group. As a leading
timber company Danzer Grup should only be
involved in the supply of legal and sustainable
timber, as it claims to be in its reports.
