Comp<strong>an</strong>y A has indiscriminately cleared agricultural l<strong><strong>an</strong>d</strong> <strong><strong>an</strong>d</strong> forested areas on which more th<strong>an</strong> 100,000people depended for <strong>the</strong>ir livelihoods <strong><strong>an</strong>d</strong> has ignored national laws for forest conservation <strong><strong>an</strong>d</strong> whichprotect traditional <strong><strong>an</strong>d</strong> customary user rights to such resources. Despite such l<strong><strong>an</strong>d</strong> leases having <strong>the</strong>objective <strong>of</strong> contributing to economic growth, no jobs have been available to <strong>the</strong>se local families who havebeen made poorer since Comp<strong>an</strong>y A took <strong>the</strong>ir l<strong><strong>an</strong>d</strong>.Since Comp<strong>an</strong>y A first arrived in <strong>the</strong> area, more th<strong>an</strong> ten years ago, affected communities have continuallyprotested against <strong>the</strong> grabbing <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong>ir l<strong><strong>an</strong>d</strong>, <strong>the</strong> destruction <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong>ir forests <strong><strong>an</strong>d</strong> <strong>the</strong> impact on <strong>the</strong>irlivelihoods. Although <strong>the</strong>se protests led to <strong>the</strong> temporary suspension <strong>of</strong> operations, <strong>the</strong> dispute continuesto this day; no l<strong><strong>an</strong>d</strong> has been returned <strong><strong>an</strong>d</strong> <strong>the</strong> response from Comp<strong>an</strong>y A <strong><strong>an</strong>d</strong> government enforcementagencies (sometimes hired as security by <strong>the</strong> comp<strong>an</strong>y) has become increasingly violent. In one incident, <strong>an</strong>umber <strong>of</strong> community protestors were severely injured in <strong>an</strong> armed attack, which was never investigated.Me<strong>an</strong>while community leaders <strong><strong>an</strong>d</strong> civil society representatives supporting <strong>the</strong>m face regular threats,harassment, detention <strong><strong>an</strong>d</strong> violations <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong>ir most fundamental hum<strong>an</strong> rights.Throughout this dispute, <strong>the</strong> government has repeatedly promised to review commercial l<strong><strong>an</strong>d</strong> leases <strong><strong>an</strong>d</strong>s<strong>an</strong>ction those over <strong>the</strong> legal size limit <strong><strong>an</strong>d</strong> non-compli<strong>an</strong>t with contractual arr<strong>an</strong>gements. Comp<strong>an</strong>y A hasuntil now avoided being reviewed <strong><strong>an</strong>d</strong> has never been s<strong>an</strong>ctioned. Since gaining rights to this l<strong><strong>an</strong>d</strong> Comp<strong>an</strong>yA <strong><strong>an</strong>d</strong> its owner has gone from strength to strength; <strong>an</strong> exp<strong><strong>an</strong>d</strong>ing portfolio <strong>of</strong> assets which appear to havestreng<strong>the</strong>ned its power <strong><strong>an</strong>d</strong> influence. Through this exp<strong>an</strong>sion it has become embroiled in a two fur<strong>the</strong>rcontroversial l<strong><strong>an</strong>d</strong> grabs, with impunity, <strong>the</strong> CEO regularly joins international trade <strong><strong>an</strong>d</strong> diplomatic missionswith senior government <strong>of</strong>ficials <strong><strong>an</strong>d</strong> increasingly acts as <strong>the</strong> local partner in lucrative international jointventures.Case B – M<strong>an</strong>ipulating accountability mech<strong>an</strong>ismsCase B is a dispute between “Comp<strong>an</strong>y B”, whose Director is personally related to senior government<strong>of</strong>ficials, <strong><strong>an</strong>d</strong> <strong>an</strong> ethnic minority community. Comp<strong>an</strong>y B claims it legally purchased freehold rights to a fewhundred hectares <strong>of</strong> l<strong><strong>an</strong>d</strong>, but <strong>the</strong> affected communities dispute this claim saying <strong>the</strong>y have lived <strong><strong>an</strong>d</strong>worked <strong>the</strong> area for generations, <strong><strong>an</strong>d</strong> that this is a l<strong><strong>an</strong>d</strong> grab which has resulted in <strong>the</strong>m losing <strong>an</strong>cestralagricultural l<strong><strong>an</strong>d</strong>, food <strong><strong>an</strong>d</strong> water resources on which <strong>the</strong>ir livelihoods depend, as well as family cemeteries.The community claims <strong>the</strong> l<strong><strong>an</strong>d</strong> was purchased fraudulently by Comp<strong>an</strong>y B, through deception <strong><strong>an</strong>d</strong> duressover a period <strong>of</strong> years, in collusion with government <strong>of</strong>ficials. This process included community members(m<strong>an</strong>y <strong>of</strong> whom are illiterate) being forced to sign bl<strong>an</strong>k documents which were subsequently turned intol<strong><strong>an</strong>d</strong> sale agreements, being repeatedly lied to by government <strong><strong>an</strong>d</strong> comp<strong>an</strong>y <strong>of</strong>ficials about <strong>the</strong> purpose <strong>of</strong><strong>the</strong> l<strong><strong>an</strong>d</strong> acquisition <strong><strong>an</strong>d</strong> outright fraud (individuals, including local government <strong>of</strong>ficials, who had no legalright to <strong>the</strong> l<strong><strong>an</strong>d</strong> signing sales contracts with Comp<strong>an</strong>y B).After petitions <strong><strong>an</strong>d</strong> public protests by <strong>the</strong> community to government <strong>of</strong>ficials dem<strong><strong>an</strong>d</strong>ing <strong>the</strong>ir l<strong><strong>an</strong>d</strong> bereturned went un<strong>an</strong>swered, <strong>the</strong> community filed criminal <strong><strong>an</strong>d</strong> civil complaints against Comp<strong>an</strong>y B. Despiteit being m<strong>an</strong>y years since <strong>the</strong> lawsuit was filed, <strong>the</strong> court has yet to decide if it will begin proceedingsagainst <strong>the</strong> Comp<strong>an</strong>y. A number <strong>of</strong> judges have worked on <strong>the</strong> case <strong><strong>an</strong>d</strong> all have refused to investigate it.The community claims this is because <strong>of</strong> political interference by senior government <strong>of</strong>ficials on behalf <strong>of</strong>Comp<strong>an</strong>y B <strong><strong>an</strong>d</strong> court <strong>of</strong>ficials <strong>the</strong>mselves admit to being too scared to work on <strong>the</strong> case. However in <strong>the</strong>me<strong>an</strong>time, Comp<strong>an</strong>y B has filed separate charges <strong>of</strong> collusion, defamation <strong><strong>an</strong>d</strong> fraud against some <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong>most prominent community leaders in <strong>the</strong> courts. Legal action which (<strong>the</strong> community’s lawyers allege) hasbeen prioritised by court <strong>of</strong>ficials over <strong>the</strong>ir client’s case.In <strong>the</strong> me<strong>an</strong>time, community members <strong><strong>an</strong>d</strong> <strong>the</strong>ir supporters face ongoing threats, harassment <strong><strong>an</strong>d</strong>intimidation from Comp<strong>an</strong>y B <strong><strong>an</strong>d</strong> government <strong>of</strong>ficials. On numerous occasions <strong>the</strong> community’s lawyershave been prevented from meeting <strong>the</strong>m, money has been repeatedly <strong>of</strong>fered by Comp<strong>an</strong>y B to individualsto drop <strong>the</strong> charges, government <strong>of</strong>ficials have spread mis-information (such as telling <strong>the</strong> community <strong>the</strong>ircase has been lost <strong><strong>an</strong>d</strong> <strong>the</strong>ir lawyers arrested) <strong><strong>an</strong>d</strong> <strong>the</strong> lawyers <strong>the</strong>mselves have received threats for__________________________________Global Witness <strong>Corruption</strong> <strong><strong>an</strong>d</strong> Large-Scale L<strong><strong>an</strong>d</strong> Acquisitions, Global Witness, October 2012 Page 7 <strong>of</strong> 10
working on this case. Throughout this dispute, Comp<strong>an</strong>y B has continued to clear <strong>the</strong> l<strong><strong>an</strong>d</strong> taken from <strong>the</strong>ethnic minority villagers <strong><strong>an</strong>d</strong> pl<strong>an</strong>ted crops, despite continued protests from <strong>the</strong> community <strong><strong>an</strong>d</strong> a courtorder dem<strong><strong>an</strong>d</strong>ing <strong>the</strong> comp<strong>an</strong>y cease operations until <strong>the</strong> case is resolved.Analysis <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> relationship between corruption <strong><strong>an</strong>d</strong> l<strong><strong>an</strong>d</strong> grabbingThese two case studies provide examples <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> breadth <strong><strong>an</strong>d</strong> depth <strong>of</strong> ways in which corruption interrelateswith l<strong><strong>an</strong>d</strong> grabbing, specifically in <strong>the</strong> three areas this paper focuses on: corruption <strong>of</strong> decisionmaking over <strong>the</strong> allocation <strong>of</strong> l<strong><strong>an</strong>d</strong>; corruption <strong>of</strong> accountability <strong><strong>an</strong>d</strong> legal redress mech<strong>an</strong>isms available toaffected communities; <strong><strong>an</strong>d</strong> how l<strong><strong>an</strong>d</strong> grabs consolidate elite capture <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> state. These are summarisedbelow:a) <strong>Corruption</strong> enabling comp<strong>an</strong>ies to ignore legal safeguards <strong><strong>an</strong>d</strong> due process with impunity in orderto gain rights to illegal <strong><strong>an</strong>d</strong> / or excessive areas <strong>of</strong> l<strong><strong>an</strong>d</strong>: Comp<strong>an</strong>y A being able to retain control <strong>of</strong> more th<strong>an</strong> 30 times <strong>the</strong> legal limit <strong>of</strong> l<strong><strong>an</strong>d</strong> concession<strong><strong>an</strong>d</strong> not be held to account for failing to follow <strong>the</strong> law (eg. ignoring requirements to consultwith potentially affected communities or protect forested areas); Comp<strong>an</strong>y B being able to purchase ethnic minority l<strong><strong>an</strong>d</strong> through threats, deception <strong><strong>an</strong>d</strong> fraud.b) Judicial <strong><strong>an</strong>d</strong> accountability mech<strong>an</strong>isms being corrupted through corporate power <strong><strong>an</strong>d</strong> influence: Comp<strong>an</strong>y A working with government enforcement agencies to issue threats, arrest <strong><strong>an</strong>d</strong> detainactivists from <strong>the</strong> affected communities, in order to protect <strong>the</strong> comp<strong>an</strong>y’s commercial assets; Repeated <strong><strong>an</strong>d</strong> institutionalised failure <strong>of</strong> numerous judges to investigate proceedings broughtagainst Comp<strong>an</strong>y B by those who lost <strong>the</strong>ir l<strong><strong>an</strong>d</strong>. The judicial system allegedly givingpreferential treatment to criminal proceedings brought by Comp<strong>an</strong>y B against <strong>the</strong> villagers,despite being filed long after <strong>the</strong>ir own lawsuit. Lawyers for <strong>the</strong> community being threatenedby government <strong>of</strong>ficials <strong><strong>an</strong>d</strong> prevented repeatedly from meeting with <strong>the</strong>ir clients.c) L<strong><strong>an</strong>d</strong> grabs enabling <strong>the</strong> fur<strong>the</strong>r consolidation <strong>of</strong> power, influence <strong><strong>an</strong>d</strong> elite capture <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> state: Since gaining rights to <strong>the</strong> l<strong><strong>an</strong>d</strong>, Comp<strong>an</strong>y B has gained control <strong>of</strong> a number <strong>of</strong> o<strong>the</strong>reconomically signific<strong>an</strong>t development projects, has streng<strong>the</strong>ned his relationship with <strong>the</strong> mostsenior levels <strong>of</strong> government <strong><strong>an</strong>d</strong> is increasingly acting as <strong>the</strong> local partner in lucrativeinternational joint ventures.4) What needs to ch<strong>an</strong>ge?From Global Witness’ perspective (based on nearly two decades <strong>of</strong> experience working on corruption in <strong>the</strong>natural resources sector), <strong>the</strong> first step towards tackling corruption in l<strong><strong>an</strong>d</strong> investments is to underst<strong><strong>an</strong>d</strong> itsdynamics. This paper provides a typology <strong>of</strong> how corruption <strong><strong>an</strong>d</strong> l<strong><strong>an</strong>d</strong> grabbing interrelate, <strong>an</strong> <strong>an</strong>alysis <strong>of</strong>two case studies <strong><strong>an</strong>d</strong> recommendations for how this corruption <strong><strong>an</strong>d</strong> its consequences c<strong>an</strong> be addressed.This typology <strong><strong>an</strong>d</strong> <strong>the</strong> potential solutions presented should be considered a work in progress, <strong>the</strong>y need tobe fur<strong>the</strong>r tested, updated <strong><strong>an</strong>d</strong> improved.As c<strong>an</strong> be seen from <strong>the</strong> case studies presented, a number <strong>of</strong> stakeholders c<strong>an</strong> ei<strong>the</strong>r facilitate or tacklecorrupt l<strong><strong>an</strong>d</strong> deals. Recommendations are <strong>the</strong>refore targeted to three stakeholder groups: governmentsreceiving <strong>large</strong>-<strong>scale</strong>, commercial l<strong><strong>an</strong>d</strong> investments; <strong>the</strong> comp<strong>an</strong>ies involved in <strong>the</strong>se investments; <strong><strong>an</strong>d</strong>international institutions.There are three key recommendations for governments receiving <strong>large</strong>-<strong>scale</strong>, commercial l<strong><strong>an</strong>d</strong>investments. Firstly, <strong>the</strong>y must adopt <strong><strong>an</strong>d</strong> enforce <strong>an</strong>ti-corruption legislation, supported by parliamentary__________________________________Global Witness <strong>Corruption</strong> <strong><strong>an</strong>d</strong> Large-Scale L<strong><strong>an</strong>d</strong> Acquisitions, Global Witness, October 2012 Page 8 <strong>of</strong> 10