drillers_in_the_mist

STARRINGSOCO INTERNATIONALA company featured onTHE LONDON STOCK EXCHANGEHOW SECRET PAYMENTSAND A CLIMATE OF VIOLENCEHELPED SOCO INTERNATIONALOPEN AFRICA’S OLDESTNATIONAL PARK TO OILGLOBAL WITNESSPRESENTSDRILLERSIN THEMISTA STORYQUEST FORABOUT SOCO INTERNATIONAL’S OIL IN VIRUNGA NATIONAL PARK AWORLD HERITAGE SITEMADEILLICIT PAYMENTS APPEAR TO HAVE PAID OFF ARMED REBELSFOSTEREDBY GOVERNMENT SECURITY FORCESBEATEN AND STABBED18INCLUDES SECRET PAYMENTS AND VIOLENCESOME MATERIAL MAY BE HIGHLY INAPPROPRIATETHE COMPANYAND ITSCONTRACTORSANDBENEFITTED FROMFEAR AND VIOLENCEINEASTERN DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGOOPPONENTSHAVE BEEN ARRESTEDBYGOVERNMENT SECURITY FORCES IDENTIFIED AS WORKING ALONGSIDE THE COMPANYSOCO HAS RAISED MONEY WITH HELP FROMITS MANY SHAREHOLDERS, INCLUDING UK PENSION FUNDSEVIDENCE FROM SECRET RECORDINGSVISIT WWW.GLOBALWITNESS.ORG/VIRUNGA SEPTEMBER 2014RM

Drillers in the mist | September 2014DRILLERS IN THE MIST: HOW SECRET PAYMENTS ANDA CLIMATE OF VIOLENCE HELPED SOCO INTERNATIONALOPEN AFRICA’S OLDEST NATIONAL PARK TO OIL3• Opponents of London-listed Soco International in Congo arrested, beatenand stabbed by government security forces identified as supporting the company• Military intelligence officer working alongside Soco offered bribes to parkranger to spy on head of Virunga National Park, home to the world’s lastmountain gorillas• Soco made payments to Congolese MP to lobby for access to Virunga undera murky ‘consultancy’ arrangement• Armed rebels appear to have received cash from company ‘subcontractors’London-listed company Soco and its contractorshave made illicit payments, appear to have paid offarmed rebels and benefited from fear and violencefostered by government security forces in easternCongo, as they sought access to Africa’s oldestnational park for oil exploration.Material gathered as part of an undercoverinvestigation by UK film-makers and reviewed byGlobal Witness, lays bare the extent of the actscarried out by Soco International plc – one of theUK’s 200 largest companies – and its supporters tofurther its oil project in the Democratic Republicof Congo’s Virunga National Park, which is aworld heritage site. 1 Only some of the undercoverfootage was included in a new documentary called“Virunga”. Soco has said in a public statement thatit “does not condone, partake in or tolerate corruptor illegal activity whatsoever.” 2Soco has yet to find oil in the park. Followingsustained pressure from campaigners, it pledgedon 11 June that, after completing seismic testing,it would not “undertake or commission anyexploratory or other drilling within VirungaNational Park unless Unesco and the DRCgovernment agree that such activities are notincompatible with its World Heritage status”. Theambiguity of Soco’s position leaves the door opento the park being fully or partly declassified for oil.This was underlined by a report in the Times on theday of the announcement, where Soco Deputy CEORoger Cagle said Congo and Unesco could agree toredraw Virunga’s boundaries. 3The video and audio recordings were collected by acourt-appointed investigator, community activistsand French freelance journalist Mélanie Gouby.The footage shows a Soco ally trying to bribe asenior park ranger to spy on the head of Virunga,local Soco agents handing out envelopes of cashto villagers to hold a demonstration, and a topCongolese parks official telling rangers they “will bepaid money, money, money” if they collaborate withthe company. Soco officials, meanwhile, labelledthe head of the park, Emmanuel de Merode, as theirmajor obstacle in secret recordings, and denigratedthe park. Its operations supervisor in Congo said theworld heritage site was “just a fucking mine”.Activists and park rangers in Nyakakoma have beenarrested, and in some cases beaten or stabbed, bysoldiers and intelligence agents after criticising orobstructing Soco’s operations. Several of these caseshave recently been documented independentlyby Human Rights Watch, which has called onCongolese authorities “to make sure that peopleare safe when they try to uphold the law, protectthe park, and peacefully express their views”.Soco has said it is not connected to the incidents

4 Drillers in the mist | September 2014detailed by Human Rights Watch and that its initialinvestigations “have not found the allegationsraised to be substantiated or justified”.In one exchange recorded by Gouby, a Soco officialand contractor appear to admit the company has paidmoney to Congolese rebels. Brutal rebel groups haveterrorised civilians and engaged in elephant poachingand illegal charcoal trading in Virunga. The dangersrun by rangers seeking to protect the park werestarkly illustrated by the attempted assassinationof de Merode in April 2014 by unknown gunmen.The company also made monthly payments to aninfluential MP in the region – an arrangement thatmerits further investigation for possible violationsof bribery laws. The MP – now a governmentminister – said that he was “compensated” by Socofor his work and described himself as a consultantto the company. He represented an area includingthe town of Nyakakoma, where Soco has itsCongolese base camp.GLOBAL WITNESS IS CALLING ON:• Soco International to launch a full,independent investigation and commitnot to explore within the currentboundaries of Virunga;• Soco to also publish documents relatedto its Virunga project, including asecretive 2011 agreement with thenational parks authority, followingwhich the authority reversed itsopposition to Soco entering the park;• Investors to pressure Soco to committo no oil activity within the currentboundaries of Virunga, launch a fullindependent investigation and publishall relevant documents;• UK and US anti-corruption authoritiesto examine the evidence of bribery, anddetermine whether the company hasacted illegally.Soco said in a statement to Global Witness thatit “operates in accordance with the UK BriberyAct 2010 and any allegation to the contrary iscategorically denied”. It said the Virunga film“contains multiple inaccuracies and many entirelyfalse statements concerning the company’soperations”. Soco would “investigate thoroughlyand deal with each and every incident” if there wasevidence of wrongdoing, it added.VIRUNGA – A WORLDHERITAGE SITE IN DANGERVirunga National Park, which lies on the equator ineastern Congo, covers an area almost three timesthe size of Luxembourg. It contains savannah,rainforest, lava-spewing volcanoes and most ofone of Africa’s great lakes. Lake Edward’s fishsupport more than 30,000 people but the park’smost famous residents are some 220 criticallyendangered mountain gorillas – a quarter ofthe total global population. 4 As a world heritagesite, Virunga officially enjoys the same level ofprotection as the Yellowstone National Park and theGreat Barrier Reef.But as easier-to-tap oil supplies have dwindled,the push into more remote areas has brought twoEuropean oil firms to Virunga. The French giantTotal and London Stock Exchange-listed SocoInternational have been granted oil explorationrights to vast areas that overlap the park. To headoff criticism, Total announced in 2013 that itwould not explore for oil inside Virunga’s currentboundaries even if these were to be moved. 5Faced with opposition from western governments,UN agencies and conservationists, Soco made acommitment in June – in a joint-statement withthe WWF (World Wide Fund for Nature) – whichfalls far short of Total’s unequivocal stance.That announcement on 11 June was the result of amediation process stemming from WWF’s complaintagainst Soco to the Organisation for EconomicCo-operation and Development (OECD). In additionto its pledge not to start new oil activities insideVirunga without agreement between Unescoand the Congolese government, the companycommitted not to operate in “any other worldheritage site”. 6

Drillers in the mist | September 20145SOCO’S PAST: CORRUPTION CLAIMSAND THE AXIS OF EVILSoco was registered in the UK in 1997, whenTexan oil-man Ed Story brought in an oldbusiness partner, Roger Cagle, to help float thecompany on the London Stock Exchange. 9The company has often gone where others fearto tread. Outside central Africa, it has operated atthe frontier of the oil sector in countries includingLibya, North Korea and Vietnam. 10 “We didn’tconcentrate on the Axis of Evil,” Story told a Britishnewspaper in 2008. “It just worked out that wayfor a while. We go to a lot of strange places. Welike to be there first and define the terms ratherthan take someone else’s.” 11In 1999, two years after the float, a group ofinvestors took a 25% stake in the company andjoined the board. 12 Patrick Maugein, a friend offormer French President Jacques Chirac, becameSoco’s chairman, and Rui de Sousa, a Portugueseoil trader, a director. 13 Maugein and de Sousa –who became Chairman after the former’s deathin 2006 – helped orientate Soco towards oilfields in French-speaking Africa. 14 When Soco setup its Africa office, Maugein brought in anotherFrenchman to head up its operations – SergeLescaut, who worked in oil in Iraq from 1998 to2003. 15After buying into Soco, Maugein and de Sousabecame embroiled in corruption allegationssurrounding Iraq’s UN-supervised “oil-for-food”programme, which was intended to alleviate theeffects of sanctions on Iraqi civilians but was usedas a cash cow by Saddam Hussein’s regime. Bothmen were reported to have been given lucrativeoil allocations by Iraq. De Sousa was linked byan official inquiry and an investigative reportin the Wall Street Journal to the smuggling ofover 400,000 barrels of oil out of Iraq in 2001 incontravention of UN sanctions. 16 The authoritativeVolcker report on the scandal said that Saddam’sgovernment illegally earned €9.4 million from thescheme.Maugein told the Wall Street Journal at thetime that his dealings in Iraq “were conductedin a perfectly legal manner “. De Sousa said thathe simply “went [to Iraq] to discuss potentialinvestments” and that the corruption scandalwas “a big hypocrisy”. 17Similarly, Soco’s first acquisition in central Africain 2005 – the offshore Marine XI block in CongoBrazzaville – was mired in controversy. A privatecompany Africa Oil and Gas Corporation (AOGC)was awarded a 10% stake as part of the deal. AUK court found that AOGC was secretly set up bya presidential advisor, who as head of the stateoil company was in charge of overseeing thebidding process for the block. 18 Maugein and deSousa also held a stake in the block through anoffshore company. 19These allegations against Soco board membershave not prevented the company from receivingaccolades in the business press. The Times said inSeptember 2013 that its shares are “a good longtermpunt”, while more recently investment banksBMO Capital Markets and RBC Capital gave it an“outperform” rating. 20WWF, meanwhile, has agreed to stop pursuing itsOECD complaint and has declared “victory for ourplanet and for good practices in business”. 7The deal, however, allowed Soco to complete aseismic survey inside Virunga to gather data on thepark’s oil potential. Virunga could still be drilledunder the agreement if the park is declassified or itsboundaries are shifted. Indeed, Soco’s Deputy ChiefExecutive Roger Cagle has indicated his support forsuch an arrangement, telling the Times newspaperthat the agreement “forces DRC and Unesco tocome to some kind of accommodation”.Soco has also been at pains to tell investors andthe Congolese authorities that its agreement withWWF did not signal the company was withdrawingfrom Virunga. For example, Soco’s Congo country

6 Drillers in the mist | September 2014chief José Sangwa wrote to Prime Minister AugustinMatata Ponyo on 11 June 2014 that news of our“disengagement from oil exploration activitiesin Virunga National Park… is inaccurate”. Socowould process its oil exploration data by mid-2015, he said, and that would allow the Congoleseauthorities to decide on whether to push aheadwith oil operations or not.Beyond the looming threat to Virunga, majorquestions remain about how Soco opened upVirunga to oil exploration and countered oppositionwith the help of some dubious allies.A deal to unlock the parkSoco was set up and is still led by Ed Story, a 70-yearoldTexan oil man with a penchant for playingelephant polo. From small beginnings in 1991, as anoffshoot of Fort Worth-based Snyder Oil Corporation,it has grown to be one of the 200 largest Britishpublic companies, with annual revenues of over$600 million. 8 Along the way, company officers havecourted controversy for links to corruption and Socohas been criticised for its focus on some of the world’smost dictatorial regimes (see box: Soco’s past).In early 2011, the company’s bid to find oil ineastern Congo seemed to be falling apart. Theyear before, the company’s oil rights for Block 5were ratified by Congo’s President. 21 Now Congo’senvironment ministry had suspended its plans tobegin exploration and national park authoritieswere arguing that oil exploration was illegal (seebox: The legality of oil exploration in Virunga). Overhalf of Block 5 lies within Virunga.In February that year a run-in with Virunga’srangers entrenched these divisions. According tothe General Manager of the Congolese nationalparks authority (the ICCN) a team of Soco officialsaccompanied by a local MP and 12 soldiers “forced”their way into the park, despite being forbiddenentry by rangers guarding a barrier. 22 It was thelatest in a series of disputes with park authorities,who allege Soco had repeatedly entered the parkillegally and offered bribes to a park ranger. 23Cosma Wilungula, the ICCN’s General Manager,made a formal complaint to the local publicprosecutor, calling for a “preventative measureforbidding Soco personnel access to the park”. 24He said that exploring for oil in the park was illegalunder Congolese law and violated internationalaccords that Congo had signed.Soco acknowledged that it had entered thepark accompanied by the MP but argued thatPhoto by Brent Stirton/Getty Images for WWF-CanonVirunga is home to a quarter of the world’s remaining mountain gorillas.

Drillers in the mist | September 20147AP Photo/David LongstreathGetty Images/Paula BronsteinSoco’s CEO, Ed Story (right), enjoys the thrill of elephant polo when he’s not in the boardroom.it had permission, saying Wilungula’s versionwas “blatantly false” and that it was in the parkconducting an environmental assessment. 25To make matters worse for the company, in March2011 Congo’s Environment Minister, José Endundo,rejected the environmental assessment by Soco as“premature” and “superficial”. 26 He said a furtherassessment was needed before oil exploration couldproceed.In a letter to the Prime Minister that monthEndundo joined the ICCN in accusing Soco offorcing its way into the park. He said that Soco’s oilcontract “posed a problem” and that “any violationof the integrity of Virunga National Park… wouldlead to the decline not only of this park” but alsoof Congo’s four other national parks recognised asworld heritage sites. 27 He said this was not solelythe position of the environment ministry but wasthe “clear and unambiguous position of therelevant texts”.Then, in May 2011, 28 Soco signed an agreement withthe ICCN. 29 The existence of the deal was kept secretat the time, even from the Virunga authorities –based in the park at Rumangabo, 900 miles east ofthe ICCN’s Kinshasa headquarters. 30Soco later said it gave them the right to enterVirunga “for the purposes of carrying out scientificstudies” in return for a fee to the ICCN “to monitorour activities… and contribute towards the cost ofproviding rangers”. 31 It is not known how much Socopaid under the agreement. 32A later 2013 deal between the two commits Socoto pay $180,000 a year, as well as a one-offpayment of $150,000 for development projectsto the parks authority. 33In the year after the May 2011 Soco-ICCNagreement, relations improved and by April 2012the ICCN’s Wilungula wrote to Soco saying the ICCNwill “ensure that you and your teams… can enterVirunga National Park for all useful purposes”. 34 Hesaid the ICCN “supports wholeheartedly” Soco’s aimof “reconciling the conservation of the unique andirreplaceable biodiversity of [Virunga]… with oilexploration”. 35The environment minister Endundo granted Socoa permit for aerial surveys over its block 36 butresisted pressure from the oil ministry to give morefar-reaching rights. 37 In March 2012 he removed akey Soco ally from a committee monitoring the oilissue. 38 Endundo lost his ministerial position later

8 Drillers in the mist | September 2014that month – it is not known whether it was inconnection with his stance on Virunga.The agreement with Soco led to a split in thenational parks authority between those willing tocollaborate and those determined to shield Virungafrom oil exploration. De Merode and his team inRumangabo were left isolated.De Merode, a 44-year-old Belgian conservationistwho grew up in Kenya and the UK, was brought inby the Congolese government to manage Virunga’steam of about 300 ICCN park rangers in 2008. 39He also sits on the board of the Virunga Foundation,which has a ten-year contract to manage thepark alongside the ICCN. His appointment allowedVirunga National Park to restore its reputationfollowing an international scandal that saw itsprevious director charged with complicity in theillegal charcoal trade and the killings of severalmountain gorillas. 40 The former director, HonoréMashagiro, was later released for lack of evidencebut the events surrounding his arrest marked oneof the lowest points in the park’s history.Under de Merode’s leadership, the park has bouncedback from years of neglect. A hydro-electric planthas been built for local people and tourists havestarted visiting the mountain gorillas again, earningrevenues of over $1 million in 2010 and 2011combined. 41 The turbulent history of the area, stilldotted with rebel groups, makes the rangers’ jobsdangerous and sometimes deadly: 130 park rangershave been killed in the park since 1996. 42Despite the about-turn of the national parksauthority and the environment ministry in Kinshasa,Soco still had to contend with opposition in andaround Virunga - from the park’s management underde Merode, as well as from activists and fishermen.THE LEGALITY OF OILEXPLORATION IN VIRUNGAOil exploration or production in Virunga NationalPark is illegal under Congo’s 2011 EnvironmentLaw and its 1969 Nature Conservation Law, whichsays that land in national parks, “cannot betransferred or placed under concessions”. 43A new Nature Conservation Law superseded the1969 text in February 2014. It declares “null anyright granted within the boundaries of protectedareas”. 44 However, the law says “scientificresearch” and activities in the “public interest”may be permitted by a decree from the Councilof Ministers where the activity is not detrimentalto flora and fauna. 45 Soco has not receivedsuch a decree. Although Soco has receivedpresidential and ministerial decrees authorisingthem to explore for oil, these are of lower legalvalue than Congolese law.In addition, Virunga is protected as a worldheritage site and the committee that governsthese sites has stressed “the incompatibility ofpetroleum exploration and exploitation withWorld Heritage status”. It has called on Congo tocancel the permit. 46Soco “denies that their operations in the parkare illegal and states that it is committed toabiding by international and national law”. 47When faced with the allegations of illegality,it said that “the only planned activity continuesto be the scientific studies… No drilling has beenplanned or is warranted at this stage.” 48 But thework programme in Soco’s Production SharingContract contradicts this, committing thecompany to drilling two exploration wells. 49In a meeting on 29 May 2014 with GlobalWitness (before Soco’s joint announcement withWWF) a spokesperson for the company saidthat after interpreting the seismic data – whichwould not be completed until October 2014 atthe earliest – the terms of the contract allowthe company to pull out for commercial reasons:“That is our safety net.”The government of the UK, where Socois headquartered, has said it “opposes oilexploration within Virunga National Park” andhas urged “the Government of DR Congo to fullyrespect the international conventions to whichit is a signatory”. 50 The Belgian, German andEuropean parliaments have all passed resolutionscritical of oil exploration in the park. 51

CHARACTERSDrillers in the mist | September 20149Soco and its subcontractors• Ed Story – Soco’s Texan CEO, he started thecompany in 1991• Roger Cagle – Soco’s co-founder and DeputyCEO, based in London• Rui de Sousa – Chairman of Soco since 2006,he also owns a stake in the Virunga project• Patrick Maugein – an oil trader and SocoChairman from 1999 until his death in 2006• Serge Lescaut – Soco’s Africa director basedin Pointe-Noire, Congo Brazzaville• José Sangwa – head of Soco’s Congo office,based in Kinshasa• Julien Lechenault – Soco’s Field OperationsSupervisor in eastern Congo, who left thecompany in September 2013• Pieter Wright – one of Soco’s securitycontractors working for Specialised SecurityConsultants (SSC)• “John” – as yet unidentified consultantwho worked for Soco, filmed undercover byMélanie GoubyThe freelance journalist• Mélanie Gouby – a French freelance journalistwho secretly filmed Soco employeesSoco’s friends• Célestin Vunabandi – MP for an area of easternCongo covering much of Soco’s oil block and nowa minister. He worked as a consultant for Soco• Major Burimbi Feruzi – an intelligence officerand Soco’s point-man in the Congolese army.• Guy Mbayma – Soco’s point-man in theCongolese national parks authority (the ICCN)until his recent dismissal• The Mwami (Chief) Ndeze - the powerful localchief of Bwisha, a wide area including Soco’sbase camp at the lakeside village of Nyakakoma• Kamari Birahira – a top aide to the MwamiNdeze in NyakakomaCongo’s environment officials and Virunga rangers• José Endundo - Congo’s environment ministerfrom 2007 to 2012• Cosma Wilungula - General Manager of theCongolese national park’s authority (ICCN),which manages sites including Virunga• Emmanuel de Merode – Virunga’s chief wardensince 2008. A Belgian conservationist whosurvived an attempted assassination in April 2014• Rodrigue Katembo – chief warden of Virunga’scentral sector

10 Drillers in the mist | September 20141. ILLICIT PAYMENTSAND OFFERS OF BRIBES:OVERCOMING RESISTANCEOF VIRUNGA PARKRANGERSFour powerful local figures have advanced Soco’sinterests in Virunga.The army major – Feed us information secretlyand you could get $3,000The first was Major Burimbi Feruzi, a Congolesearmy intelligence officer assigned to Soco as a“Military Liaison Officer”. 52 Undercover recordingsshow that he tried to smooth Soco’s way into thepark through bribery and he referred to a Socosecurity contractor as his “boss”.Feruzi was first filmed undercover in May 2013by senior park ranger Rodrigue Katembo, whoseauthority covered Nyakakoma, the town housingSoco’s base camp. Two-and-a-half years earlier theprovincial High Court of North Kivu had mandatedKatembo to investigate Soco’s activities in Virunga. 53Katembo - who features in the film Virunga - puton a concealed microphone and a button-holecamera, gathering information that was submittedto North Kivu’s public prosecutor in April 2014.At the May 2013 meeting Feruzi offered Katembomoney to spy on de Merode, saying that he waslooking for “an accomplice on the inside”.“We are trying to gauge Emmanuel [de Merode’s]position. Is he plotting behind our backs or is heplanning an ambush?” said Feruzi. “While we areworking together, you might hear something andyou should inform us.” 54“This means we are buying you,” said Feruzi,laughing. “After buying you, you accept tocollaborate with us; and then they will be in theposition to give you whatever you are asking for.” 55When the subject of money comes up, Katemboasked, “Then you are saying I could ask for…”,but Feruzi interrupts him: “three thousand[dollars]”. 56 By western standards this may not bemuch of a bribe but for a Congolese park rangerit’s a year-and-a-half’s wages – they earn just$165 per month. 57Feruzi wanted Katembo to meet Soco’s securitycontractors, Specialised Security Consultants (SSC).“They are the ones who design all the plans and tellSoco everything… I myself work with them”. 58“This means we are buying you”: Soco’s point-man in Congo’sarmy offered bribes to a senior rangervirungamovie.comIn July 2013 the meeting took place. In moreundercover video footage, Feruzi can be seenintroducing Katembo to a white South African:“Mr Pieter Wright. He’s my boss. He is a securityadviser in the company Soco”, the Major said. Thethree men discussed finding reliable rangers tocollaborate with Soco in the park and at the end ofthe meeting Katembo was handed an envelope with$50: “just to say thank you”, Pieter Wright said. 59“’Bribes’ to park rangers have never been nor willever be sanctioned by Soco,” the company has said. 60In a written statement published on 24 April2014 Soco denied “any knowledge of the securitycontractor filmed making a payment and does notin any way condone his actions”. 61 However, in ameeting with Global Witness on 29 May a Socospokesperson said, “We think we know who he is”.

Drillers in the mist | September 201411virungamovie.comPieter Wright, a Soco security contractor, told a ranger that an envelope of cash was “just to say thank you”An official from SSC’s sister company DeminingEnterprises International, contacted by phone byGlobal Witness, said that Wright was key to Soco’ssecurity arrangements , sharing his job with Soco’smain security adviser in eastern Congo, PieterKock. 62 Bossie Boshoff, Operations Manager at DEIsaid: “Pieter Kock is operations manager in Block 5.He works back-to-back with Pieter Wright - theyhave the same job. One does two weeks then theother does two weeks.”Soco has acknowledged Major Feruzi is thecompany’s Military Liaison Officer – their point-manin the Congolese army. However, it did not answerquestions about Feruzi in an email from GlobalWitness sent on 27 May 2014, including “Has MajorFeruzi offered to pay people on behalf of Soco?”Speaking about the secret footage showing Feruzi’sattempt at bribing Katembo, Soco’s spokesperson saidthat “the evidence that has come out of the film hasshocked us”, adding that an investigation is underwaywhich would result in a “bigger answer” from thecompany and unspecified action. “He hasn’t receivedmoney from us,” the spokesperson said. “We wouldn’tallow that and the books haven’t revealed that he has.”The park official – Work with Soco and get “money,money, money” or be firedThe second official lobbying for Soco was GuyMbayma, until recently the Technical and ScientificDirector 63 at the national parks authority and Soco’sofficial “focal point” with the organisation. 64In March 2012 he was filmed speaking to Virunga’srangers lined up in formation.In a speech that wove together French, Swahili andLingala, one of Congo’s national languages, he saidthat rangers who worked on the “inside team” withthe company “will get money, money, money, areyou gonna refuse that?” 65“When a girl will see you with money, don’t youthink she will love you? … [And] your kids will beable to go to school, that’s true. And then peoplewill start praising you and calling you ‘tonton’[uncle]”. 66If the rangers objected to oil exploration in thepark, Mbayma told them, “you will be fired, I willsign your dismissal right this minute”. 67

12 Drillers in the mist | September 2014Mbayma had funds to back up his promises. Hisboss, Cosma Wilungula, told Global Witness thatSoco paid money directly to Mbayma, rather thanto the ICCN centrally, after the company signed itsMay 2011 agreement with the parks authority. Thework on the ground “was all coordinated by GuyMbayma,” Wilungula said, “I don’t know how muchSoco gave him”.De Merode said that several rangers did receivemoney from Soco.“I was made aware that some of my staff had receivedfinancial benefits in 2011 to 2014 from the saidcompany, but this was done without my consent. Norwas I ever informed of the functions that they wereasked to fulfil In return for these payments,” he said.Mbayma has also threatened local NGOs whooppose oil drilling. In an open letter in October2013, he claimed that such NGOs may “perhapscreate new armed groups” and called for theMinister of Planning, Céléstin Vunabandi, to puttogether a list of approved groups. 68Soco did not answer Global Witness’s questionsabout Mbayma, including “What payments andbenefits – if any” Soco gave to him, directly orindirectly.The head of Soco’s office in Congo, José Sangwa, saidthat the ICCN’s “Technical and Scientific Director”(clearly referring to Mbayma) has “worked a lot” toimprove relations between the two organisations.“He [Mbayma] manages all the rangers, all the peoplethere [Virunga Park]. He has an impact when he goesto the field. He gives instructions, he guides,” Sangwatold Gouby in Kinshasa in November 2013. 69The regional MP – a Soco lobbyistThe third of Soco’s powerful friends was CélestinVunabandi, member of parliament for an areathat includes Nyakakoma and, since April 2012,Congo’s Minister of Planning and Oversight for theImplementation of the Revolution of Modernity. 70He says he acted as a consultant to Soco for over ayear while he was an MP, and received money fromthem on a monthly basis to allow him to travelaround the region promoting the oil project. Hespoke in favour of Soco at public meetings, in themedia 71 and in meetings with NGOs and regionalpoliticians. 72Photo by Brent Stirton/Getty Images for WWF-CanonVirunga’s lush plant life is under threat from poaching, the charcoal trade and now oil.

Drillers in the mist | September 201413Soco paid Célestin Vunabandi – an MP for an area in Block 5 – every month as a “consultant”Vunabandi told Gouby in a covertly filmed interviewin December 2013 that he did not sign a contractas the company believed that this may not be legalunder British law. He said: “I remember when wediscussed with the Soco people at the time, wecame to the conclusion that, I believe, British lawdoes not allow for such a contract to be signedwith politicians… especially when it relates to thepromotion of a project”. 73“Of course, every time I was going somewhere…they had to compensate me and I was engagedevery month, it’s true,” he said. 74Despite the sensitivities around his work for thecompany, Vunabandi says in his LinkedIn profilethat he worked as a consultant to Soco, with therole of “facilitation and support in implementingthe oil exploration project in [Soco’s] Block 5” forSoco from July 2010 to August 2011. 75In Gouby’s recording, Vunabandi tells her thathis role was to get the local population to acceptoil exploration in Virunga, using his relationshipswith community leaders and local authorities.“I have very good relations with politicians of allcommunities. Soco people have certainly countedon that asset,” he said. 76Soco has also kept the MP sweet by employing hisbrother, Damas Vunabandi, as a protocol officer. 77Three sources from North Kivu told Global Witnessthat Vunabandi was the first person to hold publicmeetings about plans for oil exploration in Virunga,and that he did not reveal that he was a consultantfor Soco. “He said that he was there [to speakto us] because he is an MP and cared about thepopulation,” one of the sources told Global Witnesson condition of anonymity. It would be “serious” ifVunabandi had been paid by Soco, the source said,as it would mean that he was acting as “judge andjury at the same time”.

14 Drillers in the mist | September 2014Soco’s relationship with Vunabandi needs to beinvestigated – by Soco itself and, as Global Witnessis urging, by British and US authorities. His rolewith Soco appears to have been a serious conflict ofinterest at the very least. Vunabandi did not disclosehis consultancy with the company in meetings withlocal communities and activists. 78 At worst, Soco’sarrangement with him could have constitutedbribery – particularly if payments to Vunabandi wentbeyond the reimbursement of expenses and if hewent beyond his official remit as a public offical. TheUK Bribery Act came into force in July 2011, towardsthe end of Vunabandi’s consultancy with Soco.After the consultancy ended, Vunabandi’s namecontinued to come up. A Soco official, discussing aphoney demonstration funded by the company, saidVunabandi helped arrange it (see section below: Thespontaneous demonstration). A middleman offeringbribes to the park ranger Rodrigue Katembo saidin a recorded meeting that he had been toldto make the approach by Vunabandi. Both thedemonstration and the attempted bribery occurredduring the time that Vunabandi was a minister.The arrangement with Vunabandi raises questionsnot just about Soco’s regional staff and contractors,but also about how executives and senior staffunderstood his role. Vunabandi told Gouby that hehad been a friend of Soco’s Africa head Serge Lescautsince 2005. The MP has also praised Soco at a publicmeeting in the presence of Lescaut, Soco chairmanRui de Sousa and Congo office head José Sangwa,held the same month that his consultancy started.At the event in western Congo, reportedly attendedby more than 2,000 people, he said: “I am pleased tosay that this company will be in North Kivu soon –more precisely on Block 5. We will be very happy towelcome them and aid them in their work.” 79The UK Bribery Act makes it a crime for Britishcompanies to bribe or offer a bribe to a foreignpublic official. It is also a crime for a firm to fail toprevent bribery on its behalf (see box: UK, US andCongolese bribery laws). The law says that bribery istaken to occur when an official is rewarded for the“improper performance” of his function, defined bythe UK’s justice ministry as acting in breach of goodfaith or a position of trust.The justice ministry’s guidance on the Bribery Actsays that reasonable expenses and some winingand dining are most unlikely to constitute bribery.However, if this slips into over-generous treatmentthe line into illegality could be crossed. “The higherthe expenditure… the greater the inference thatit is intended to influence the official”, the justiceministry says.UK, US AND CONGOLESEBRIBERY LAWSThe UK Bribery Act, which came into force inJuly 2011, makes it a crime for British companiesor persons to bribe or offer to bribe a foreignpublic official anywhere in the world. The Act alsomakes it a crime for a company to fail to preventbribery on its behalf by an “employee, agent orsubsidiary” of the company. In some cases, seniorcompany officials can be held personally liable. 87If bribery is proven to have occurred, a companycould defend itself by claiming to have had“adequate procedures” in place to prevent anassociated person from committing bribery.The US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act passed in1977 likewise makes bribery of foreign officialsby American businesses or citizens a crime.Like the UK Bribery Act it extends to bribery bythird party agents. 88 A company’s managementcan be held responsible for “wilful blindness”or purposely not informing themselves ofsuspected wrongdoing. 89Although Soco is based in London, its threeexecutive directors - Ed Story, Roger Cagle andCynthia Cagle - are American citizens. 90 Ed Storyand Roger Cagle are both employed through a“wholly owned subsidiary” company registered inDelaware. 91 They thus come under the scope ofUS corruption law.Congo’s 2005 anti-corruption law makes it acrime to, “offer or give directly or indirectly toa public official” a sum of money in order toobtain favourable treatment. 92

Drillers in the mist | September 201415Soco did not reply to questions e-mailed by GlobalWitness in May 2014 on its relationship withVunabandi, including “What payments and benefits– if any – have Soco, directly or indirectly, givento Vunabandi?” However, asked again about this ina meeting that month, a Soco spokesperson said:“we don’t allow any sort of political donations orpolitical endorsement. If something has happenedthat breaches our code we will investigate”. Socosays it has not breached the UK Bribery Act.The village chief and his aides – carrying outSoco’s dirty work?The fourth key ally of Soco was a regional traditionalchief for an area that includes Nyakakoma. TheMwami (Chief) Ndeze has stood alongside Socoofficials in meetings aimed at winning over thesupport of local communities along Lake Edward. 80Katembo met with one of the Mwami’s key aides –Kamari Birahira, who wields considerable power inNyakakoma as the Mwami’s number two there andhis chief tax collector. 81 Katembo made undercoverrecordings of meetings in June 2012 and July2013, during which Birahira offered him bribes tocooperate with Soco. There is no evidence that thiswas authorised by Soco.Birahira told Katembo that the ranger was “thelock” to access Virunga and that the two of themshould collaborate “to make good profits fromSoco”. National parks officials giving permissionto Soco to enter the park “must be paid”, he said.“There is money that will be paid… to the ICCN andit is a large amount.” 82“You get your cut and maybe you give me a littleof what they give you.” 83Birahira said he was acting under the instructions ofthe Mwami and of Vunabandi, the MP. Vunabandisuggested the approach to Katembo in the firstplace, Birahira said, and the Mwami would laterfollow up the matter with Vunabandi. 84Both the Mwami Ndeze and Birahira were wellknown to Soco. Soco’s operations supervisor ineastern Congo was recorded by Gouby in 2012saying that the Mwami is a “very important person”and a “good friend”, and had promised to providepeople to accompany Soco on a helicopter flight. 85Birahira took part in a Soco helicopter flight toNyakakoma in July 2013 to choose the site of thecompany’s base camp along with Pieter Kock fromSoco security contractors SSC, and Major Feruzi. 86The “spontaneous” demonstration – Soco paysvillagers to hold a rallySoco used its financial clout, handing cash tolocal organisations to give the impression that oilexploration had popular support.In late March 2012 activists and traditional chiefsgathered in the town of Vitshumbi, alongside LakeEdward, to hold a meeting on Soco’s plans, endingit by signing a petition saying they “condemn anyexploration and… any production of oil in themiddle of Virunga”. 93 Soco organised a rally eightdays later in the same town, featuring live musicand a banner reading: “Soco for the developmentof our Lake Edward fishing community”.In a hut at the end of the day, video footage showsSoco agents giving 40 local organisations envelopesof money. They told them, “pick up your envelope,other things will come later … Don’t say oh, Socosent money or such things, do we agree?” 94In a conversation recorded undercover by Goubythree months after the demonstration, Soco’s FieldOperations Supervisor in eastern Congo, JulienLechenault, acknowledged that Soco had paid forthe demonstration. Lechenault, a geologist andFrench citizen who worked for the company forthree years, said: “money was made available to dothe opposite, an anti-demonstration. Completelystupid but we did it”. He then “transferred thevideos to Kinshasa”, presumably for the news. Askedby Gouby how he organised the demonstration,Lechenault said: “In fact, via Vunabandi, who is theminister. He’s our friend. He knows everyone. Justneed to send cash and it’s done”. 95In separate, undercover filming by Gouby inJune 2013, Vunabandi said: “There have beendemonstrations that took place, sometimesorganised by Soco”. 96Soco did not answer questions from Global Witnesson whether it “ever financed public demonstrationsin Congo”, including in Vitshumbi in April 2012.

16 Drillers in the mist | September 2014ED STORY (CEO)ROGER CAGLE (DEPUTY CEO)CYNTHIA CAGLE (VICE PRESIDENT)Soco Executive Directors contracted bySoco Management Services Inc. (Delaware, US)RUI DE SOUSAA director of Quantic Ltd& Chairman of SOCO InternationalSoco paysQuantic $50k/monthconsulting feeSOCO MANAGEMENT SERVICES, INC.(Delaware, US)100% owned by SocoInternational plcSOCO INTERNATIONAL PLC (UK)London Stock Exchange85%QUANTIC LTD(British Virgin Islands)15%MAJOR SHAREHOLDERS1. Blue Albacore Business Ltd, Bahamas (forMs Caterina Van der Westhuizen) – 8.27%2. Globe Deals Ltd, British Virgin Islands(for Ms Barbara Contini) – 8.27%3. Liquid Business Ltd, Bahamas (for EttoreContini, Soco board member) – 8.27%4. Chemsa Ltd (family of former ChairmanPatrick Maugein) – 7.09%5. Ed Story (current CEO) – 3.43%(Source: Soco Annual Report 2013)SOCO DRC LIMITED(Cayman Islands)99%SOCO EXPLORATIONAND PRODUCTIONDRC SPRL (DRC)85%COHYRDRO(Congolese stateoil company)15%Lake EdwardBLOCK V

2. ARRESTS, VIOLENCEAND INTIMIDATIONWhere bribery and illicit payments have failed to winover the company’s opponents, Soco’s supportershave resorted to intimidation and violence to silencethem. Several of Soco’s opponents – activists,fishermen and Virunga rangers – have been arrested,beaten and received death threats.Three names come up repeatedly as being linked tothese arrests and intimidation, all of whom havebeen secretly filmed offering bribes and are closelyassociated with Soco: Major Feruzi, Guy Mbaymaand Kamari Birahira. Most of the incidents tookplace in Nyakakoma.A member of a fishermen’s committee inNyakakoma was arrested on 15 July 2013 shortlybefore he was due to speak about the impact of oilproduction in western Congo – on the other side ofthe country and Congo’s only area now producingcrude. 97 The soldier who came to arrest him saidthat he was acting on the orders of Major Feruzi,according to two witnesses. The fisherman, whowas accused by his captors of being a rebel andDrillers in the mist | September 2014agitating against Soco, was released the same day,after pressure from local activists.Soco issued a statement denying “any knowledgeor involvement in the alleged claims” regardingthe arrest and said it intended to investigatethoroughly. 98 The investigation resulted in astatement from an environmental contractor tothe company saying he was with Feruzi all day on16 July and could not see “how the Major wouldhave had time to arrest… someone in the fewminutes that we were separated”. 99 The statementis unconvincing, not least because of its basic errorwith the date, referring to 16 July when the arrestwas actually a day earlier.In another incident, an activist with a local humanrights group was arrested in September 2013 bylocal navy officials for allegedly taking photographsof Soco’s camp in Nyakakoma, according to astatement by a local NGO. 100 As with the fisherman,he was released after an outcry from rights groups.The activist was arrested again in February 2014after having asked a question deemed to be criticalof Soco at a public meeting organised by theMwami Ndeze, the traditional chief, according toa local source. He had to report to the Congolese17Photo by Brent Stirton/Getty Images for WWF-CanonCommunities along Lake Edward rely on its fish stocks to survive. Soco is eyeing potential oil reserves underneath.

18 Drillers in the mist | September 2014DEATH THREATS BY TEXT MESSAGESoco says they could have come from its supportersAt least six Congolese activists in Goma and Nyakakoma have received death threats by text messagefrom unknown senders. One activist, from a Goma-based environmental group, was sent a text in 2011saying he would have problems “as long as you continue talking about Soco”. Another time he wastold “if you continue to speak about oil, you will see [what will happen]. You should be careful”.Three activists fled Goma for several months in 2012 in fear of their lives. At the time, GlobalWitness met with and wrote to Soco, urging them to investigate the threats and tell Congoleseallies and media that the company is “opposed to any personal threats to activists or others”. 105 Sococonsultant Tim Purcell said that the company had investigated and was satisfied that the messagesdid not come directly from the company. 106In correspondence with a British parliamentarian, the company said that “Soco does not tolerateviolence, threats of violence or intimidation”. The company added, however, that it had manysupporters within Virunga and that “It would not totally surprise us if some of them have used(arguably the NGOs’ tactic) of misinforming or intimidating others in support of their hope.”The company said that it had spent “time and money” attempting to educate these supporters but“it is not within our power to manage their activities”. 107intelligence agency in a nearby town daily for aweek after his arrest. They asked him why he spokeout against Soco and – as with others who werearrested for opposing the company - accused himof trying to provoke a revolt and going against thewishes of the Congolese president.A Congolese environmental group wrote an openletter to the regional governor of North Kivuprovince in September 2013 complaining of “thesustained campaign of intimidation that is beingcarried out by Soco International and its partner,ICCN, in their attempt to silence all those who donot support their oil exploration project” in Virunga.“The situation is such that any entity that dares toexpress doubts regarding this venture exposes itselfto very real danger.” 101Congolese NGOs singled out Major Feruzi forbeing behind the intimidation in a July 2013public statement. Feruzi “has been used by SocoInternational; his military status has been utilisedto silence anyone who has questions about thetrue impact of the oil project”. 102 Congo’sconstitution forbids the use of military personnelfor private means. 103Despite the strong evidence against him, Feruzicontinued to act as Soco’s agent. For example, heagain attempted to recruit Katembo to work forSoco in August 2013, according to undercoverfootage taken by Katembo. 104In another incident, Gaïus Kowene, a freelancejournalist for Deutsche Welle, Germany’sinternational broadcaster, was attacked hours afterhe broadcast a critical report on Soco in Virunga inOctober 2013. Six armed men “dressed in militaryuniforms” beat him at his home in Goma and stolehis laptop before fleeing, according to CongoleseNGO Journaliste en Danger. 108While Global Witness does not allege that Soco hasknowingly commissioned a wave of intimidationin the Virunga region, it is calling on Soco tothoroughly investigate whether any of its allieshave been responsible for arrests or violencetargeting people because of their opposition to oilexploration.Stabbing and beatings of Virunga park rangersAlthough Soco claims Congo’s national parksauthority is on its side, Virunga’s park rangers say

Drillers in the mist | September 201419they have suffered violence at the hands of thecompany’s allies, in one case for simply making aroutine inquiry. Two of the most serious incidentsoccurred at Nyakakoma, inside the park.On 15 June 2012, a helicopter arrived inNyakakoma, carrying a delegation of Socoemployees and supporters. When a Virunga rangerasked the purpose of their visit, members of thenaval force guarding the team grabbed him by thethroat, punched him and stabbed him in the ankle,according to a ranger present.Soco International said that “we are in no wayresponsible for the reported incident” and thatthe helicopter left about 45 minutes before thestabbing. 109 The ranger who witnessed the eventdisputes this, saying “white men” in the delegationsaw the stabbing but left without saying a word. 110In September 2013 Katembo, the parkranger, travelled to Nyakakoma and ordereda Soco engineer to halt work on installing acommunications antenna, saying that he did nothave official permission. Soon, Birahira – the aideto the Mwami - turned up with four soldiers. Heconfiscated Katembo’s possessions and told himhe hoped his “body could be burnt by the localpopulation”, according to the ranger.Katembo, fearing for his safety, took to the road,seeking to take refuge in Uganda. Two days later,on the evening of 18 September, a group ofsoldiers arrested him at Virunga’s hillside town ofKanyaboyonga.“They took all my things, they beat me, hitting meeverywhere,” said Katembo, adding that his brother,still at secondary school, and a fellow park rangerreceived similar treatment. They then took Katemboto his rangers’ base in the area of Rwindi, where hesays they slapped him in front of his guards. Theythen “took me all over Rwindi, to show people thatI’d been arrested, mocking me”.Along the way, he said, the soldiers passed himMajor Feruzi on the phone, who told him that hewould be thrown in jail for opposing Soco.At intelligence headquarters in the provincialcapital Goma, officials accused him of opposingoil exploration and the government, and planningto join the M23, a Rwanda-backed rebel groupthat took over swathes of eastern Congo beforeits defeat at the end of 2013. Mbayma turnedup during his questioning, telling him he hadnot shown his superiors sufficient respect, saidKatembo. Mbayma told Human Rights Watch thathe had nothing to do with the arrest.In his cell, Katembo received a further beating atthe hands of other prisoners. He was held withoutcharge 111 and only released 17 days later. Evenafter his release, he said, he had to report to theintelligence services in Goma daily for 80 days.When media reports linked Soco to the arrest, thecompany strongly denied any involvement, saying “anyallegations on this subject are totally unfounded”. TheSoco press release on the matter did, however, includea statement in which Mbayma justified the move onthe basis that Katembo was opposing instructionsfrom the Congolese president. 112Mbayma also told Congo’s Radio Okapi that“Monsieur Rodrigue [Katembo] suspended work[carried out on the] instructions of the Presidentof the Republic”. 113 Katembo was arrested for“opposition to the State hierarchy”, said Mbayma.Mbayma has continued to attack Katembo since,saying in an open letter to the head of the ICCNon 9 March 2014 that Katembo was plotting to“create trouble” against Soco’s exploration plans andhad “armed himself to the teeth”, training fishermenhostile to the Mwami Ndeze to carry out sabotageoperations. Saying he feared for his own life, Mbaymasaid he would assign a group of rangers for hispersonal protection and called on Soco to “supportthis option”. He accused de Merode of playing “adangerous game” for supporting Katembo. 114Hippos inside Soco’s Block 5 - numbers are on the rise in the park.Photo by Brent Stirton/Getty Images for WWF-Canon

20 Drillers in the mist | September 2014On 6 June 2014 the national parks authority issueda statement saying that Mbayma “is no longer part ofthe ICCN”. While no reason was given for his dismissal,the head of the ICCN, Cosma Wilungula, told GlobalWitness that Mbayma had gone beyond his mandatein running a “campaign to promote oil exploration”.Human Rights Watch had reported that Mbaymamade a death threat against Katembo – somethingdenied by Mbayma himself. 115 Human Rights Watchalso reported an allegation that Mbayma had paidrangers hundreds of dollars to attend local meetingsaimed at convincing people to support Soco.The shooting of Emmanuel de MerodeRangers faced great difficulties in challenging Socobut the company’s officials and their allies sawthe rangers’ boss, de Merode, as the main obstacle.Soco’s Julien Lechenault told Gouby, “What we wishis that de Merode gets fired. If he leaves, it’s goingto be OK.” 116 A similar sentiment was expressedby Kamari Birahira during his initial meeting withKatembo. “Now the obstruction hinges on oneperson – de Merode,” he said. 117Lescaut, Soco’s Africa director, told Melanie Goubyin an undercover recorded conversation in June2013: “We have official permission to enter the parkand Mr de Merode has always opposed it… My greatfear is that one day there will be a real accident.”When asked to clarify he said: “a real incident, thatpeople get killed, things like that”.“I warned the authorities in Kinshasa several times,”he added, pointing out that a Soco contractor hadbeen kidnapped two years earlier. 118Later events showed just how dangerous de Merode’sposition was. On 15 April 2014 he submitted areport on Soco’s activities to the public prosecutor inGoma. 119 On his way back to his base in Rumangabohis car was sprayed with bullets by unknown gunmen– two bullets hit him, in the stomach and chest. 120Given that nothing was stolen, it seems to have beenan assassination attempt.Belgian MP François-Xavier de Donnea, who helpsto run a fund which supports Virunga, told theBelgian daily La Libre Belgique that the reportsubmitted by de Merode was “a compromisingdossier”, adding that the timing of the attack was“an extremely troubling coincidence”. He called onBritain, which is home to Soco’s headquarters, toinvestigate. 121In response, Soco Chairman Rui de Sousa, told thepaper that “Soco firmly denies these totally false,unfounded and defamatory insinuations”, sayingthat “it had no link whatsoever to the attack thatMr de Merode was a victim of, an attack that itfirmly condemns”. 122Roger Cagle, Soco’s Deputy Chief Executive,reiterated Soco’s denial to British paper the Times.“There is nothing for us to gain by doing this. Thebetter question to ask is, ‘How is the guy able tostay down there through the M23 [rebels] killingeverything in their path?’” he said. 123Following the shooting of de Merode, threateninganonymous text messages to Goma activistsopposing oil exploration began again. One receiveda message on 20 April 2014 which said, “we areeverywhere you go with your team. Don’t thinkthat if we missed your Director [de Merode] that wewill also miss you”. 124 Another received a messagethe following day, warning against opposing oilexploration and saying: “you’ll die for nothing likede Merode”. 125 In May WWF said unidentified callershad also threatened two of its staff in Goma overits opposition to oil exploration in Virunga. “Onecaller said, ‘We want his head.’” reported WWF. 126Soco has said it “has had nothing to do with thedeath threats or texts to human rights activists”(see also box: Death threats by text message).There are a number of interest groups who mayhave had reason to attack de Merode – from thosepushing for oil exploration to illegal charcoaltraders and ivory poachers. However, at least oneobserver has pointed to the timing of the shootingto indicate a possible connection to the oil dispute.

3. SOCO ANDREBEL GROUPSUndercover recordings show that Soco staff turneda blind eye to relations between their securitysubcontractors and rebel groups in eastern Congo,and that these subcontractors appear to havepaid rebels in return for safe passage to the park’spotential oilfields. It is not specified in the recordingswhich subcontractors are being referred to.Large parts of Soco’s Block 5 are under the controlof rebel groups who finance themselves throughwildlife poaching and trading minerals andcharcoal.The rebels are one of Soco’s main worries. InFebruary 2011, Pieter Kock, one of Soco’s securitycontractors, was kidnapped and held for two daysby the Democratic Forces for the Liberation ofRwanda (FDLR), a rebel group linked to Rwanda’s1994 genocide. According to Katembo, “it’s fromthat moment that Soco understood that theyneeded to start working with armed groups”. 127Gouby recorded a Soco official and one of thecompany’s contractors - Julien Lechenault, Soco’sthen operations supervisor in Goma, and “John“, aself-described British mercenary – discussing thecompany’s relationship with rebel groups. 128“You’ve got to give them money to be able to travelthrough the area,” said Lechenault. John added:“And while you’re paying them and keeping themhappy, they’ll work with you.” 129As the conversation carried on, Lechenault, grewnervous and told John: “Shut up!... Don’t. We havea journalist here.” He then tried to distance himselffrom the payments, saying “We don’t talk to thesepeople. That’s why we subcontract that shit.” 130The conversation then became more argumentative.Drillers in the mist | September 2014Other secretly recorded evidence suggests thatSoco’s allies have either been paying the FDLR orplan to pay them and other groups. Birahira, theaide to the Mwami, told Katembo:“Whether the Mai Mai [local militia groups] orthe FDLR, if they are still around they will haveto get something so that they won’t obstruct theoperations,” he said. Another rebel group, theNyatura, “would also have their share so that theydon’t cause trouble”. 131Soco has said, in response, that, “none of itsemployees, consultants or security contractorshave played a part in the contact with rebels orpayments to them”. 132Soco said in a letter to Global Witness that “contactwith rebels is inevitable as part of operating inthe region, however, at no time has any contactbetween Soco or its security contractors with anyCongolese rebel groups been instigated by Soco orits security contractors.”“The company does not instigate contact withrebels nor are payments made by us to rebels,”it added.21John: Who’s paying the fucking money? You orthem?Lechenault: Sub-contractorsJohn: Nah, you can’t get away with that.Julien Lechenault, a Soco official in Congo, discussing paymentsto rebels: “We subcontract that shit”virungamovie.com

22 Drillers in the mist | September 2014“WHO GIVES A FUCK ABOUTA FUCKING MONKEY?”Soco officials see park for its mineral bounty,dismiss its wildlifeSoco’s official line is that it wants to protectVirunga’s biodiversity but company officials andagents have repeatedly denigrated the park, inpublic and in private.Roger Cagle, Soco Deputy CEO, told theFinancial Times in 2011 that most of Soco’sblock was “burnt-out savannah”. 135 Rui de Sousa,Soco Chairman and part-owner of its Congolesebusiness through an offshore company QuanticLimited, 136 said in July 2013, that Virunga “hasbeen in decline for many years.” 137In private, the statements are more blunt.Journalist Mélanie Gouby recorded Soco’soperations supervisor in Congo, JulienLechenault, and a Soco security contractor,“John”, having a frank conversation aboutVirunga.“It’s just a fucking mine, this park,” saidLechenault. 138 “It’s crazy, the money youcould pull out.”“Fuck me, it’s a monkey,” chimes in John. “Whogives a fuck about a fucking monkey?Soco said in a statement that Julien andJohn “no longer work for Soco” and that thecompany “will never seek to have operations inthe mountain gorilla habitat”. 139 Soco’s oil rightsabut the area where the gorillas live.Soco’s attacks on the park come as politiciansand the company’s local allies moot thedeclassification of the park. An August 2012letter from Congo’s current environmentminister says that the Congolese governmentmay opt for the “partial or total declassificationof Virunga National Park for oil exploration”. 140A Soco spokesman did, however, confirm to GlobalWitness that Lechenault and John were workingwith the company: “We admit that we did contracthim,” the spokesperson said of Lechenault, addingthat John appeared to work for an “organisationcontracted to provide medical services”.The prospect of oil money in eastern Congo had alsoattracted the attention of the M23 rebels. ColonelVianney Kazarama, a prominent M23 spokesperson,told Gouby in a 2012 interview that “we are asking fora percentage. They [Soco] cannot exploit without us.” 133He also said that Vunabandi - the local MP, ministerand one-time consultant to Soco – asked him tocounter local opposition to oil drilling.“There have been people among the population thatdo not like Soco doing its work here,” he said. “It’sVunabandi who asked me to calm those people.”“I told the people, it’s better to work with Soco thanwith the ICCN.” 134SHOCKING SOCOThere is strong evidence of misbehaviour by Soco andits allies. A Soco official has been filmed admittingto financing a fake demonstration and appearing toacknowledge that subcontractors have been makingpayments to rebels. Soco’s Military Liaison Officer,along with its “focal point” in the Congolese wildlifeauthority, have been filmed going out of their wayto push Soco’s agenda, and telling people they willget rich if they cooperate with the company. In onecase Major Feruzi - the liaison officer who serves inCongolese military intelligence and collaborates withSoco’s security subcontractors - has been covertlyfilmed offering a senior ranger thousands of dollarsto spy on the head of Virunga. Soco should try toexplain why state officials are trying so hard to pushthe company’s agenda, and promising those whocollaborate riches.When you consider that Soco has made substantialdirect payments to its focal point in the national

Drillers in the mist | September 201423parks authority – according to the head of theauthority himself - and that a powerful regional MPwas also receiving money on a monthly basis fromSoco to lobby on its behalf, the questions becomemore pressing still.Through its choice of local collaborators Socohas created an atmosphere of fear around itsbase in Nyakakoma, making it harder for anyoneto speak out. Given that Soco is headquarteredin London, is headed by Americans and owns itsCongolese business through a company registeredin the Cayman Islands, the response should beinternational. US and UK authorities should launchinvestigations and the company should pullout definitively from Virunga. Soco should alsocommission its own independent inquiry into itsCongolese operations.Soco’s anti-bribery code says that “The Board isaware that Soco operates in an industry sectorand in certain countries which are considered tobe high risk by the standards expected by the UKBribery Act.” Clearly, the evidence shows that thecompany’s systems and procedures were inadequate.The shooting of de Merode, who was lucky toescape with his life, was a wake-up call. Anotherof Virunga’s top wardens, Rodrigue Katembo, hadhis life threatened and was beaten severely afterdaring to stand in Soco’s way. Any investigationcommissioned by Soco should look into arrests andintimidation of people who opposed oil explorationin Virunga, in each case considering any evidence oflinks to the company or its allies.Soco carried out six weeks of seismic testinginside the park from April 2014. 141 The deal withWWF allowed Soco to complete the tests and givethe Congolese government data on Virunga’s oilpotential. Roger Cagle told the Times that the deal“forces DRC [Democratic Republic of Congo] andUnesco to come to some kind of accommodation, ashas been demonstrated in many other places wherethey have accommodated things in world heritagesites by redrawing boundaries and by agreeing tocertain activities being conducted in certain ways”. 142Although Guy Mbayma has been dismissed by theICCN, Major Feruzi was still in Nyakakoma guardingSoco’s base in August 2014, according to twosources familiar with the matter.Back in London, Soco’s Executive Directors –including Ed Story and Roger Cagle – were awardedthe maximum annual bonus of 100% of salary forthe third year in a row for “exceptional companyand individual performance”. Story and Cagle’spay in 2013 was $3.4m and $2.6m respectively,a rise of over 550% for both men over the pastdecade. 143 Cagle was during this time responsiblefor managing the company’s risks, including briberyand reputational risks. 144Soco’s investors – including Aviva, Legal & Generaland the Church of England - should push thecompany to rule out all oil activity within thecurrent boundaries of Virunga and to launch a fullindependent investigation of corruption, intimidationand payments to rebels linked to the project.If investors are not satisfied with the answers theyget from the company, they should follow theexample of Norway’s pension fund, which soldits $33m stake in Soco in 2013, partly becauseof concerns about the company’s operations inVirunga. 145The outcome of the clash over Virunga will setthe tone for how Congo’s fledgling oil industrydevelops, determining whether it can help liftCongo out of dire poverty without trashing itsnatural riches and sparking yet more conflict.If Virunga is drilled, Congo’s lesser known parkssuch as Salonga National Park, which covers an arealarger than Belgium, could be next. Huge areas offorest in Congo’s central basin have already beensubdivided into oil blocks. Soco is eyeing thesepotential riches and says it has applied for a “largeinterior block” in Congo. 146 “The whole central basinis virgin territory,” Soco’s Africa head Serge Lescauthas said, 147 “We must explore it.”Drilling is still a threat inside Virunga if Congoattempts to declassify the park or change itsborders, or if Soco sells on its rights to anothercompany.

24 Drillers in the mist | September 2014CHRONOLOGY1925 Albert National Park is established by Belgium’s King Albert I.1960 Congo becomes independent.1969 The park is renamed Virunga National Park.1979 Virunga is designated a world heritage site, at the request of the Congolesegovernment.1991 Soco International is formed as a subsidiary of Snyder Oil Corporation, USA.1994 Rwandan genocide. Over 1.5 million Rwandan refugees flee to eastern Congo,including hundreds of thousands into Virunga National Park.1994 Virunga is classified as a world heritage site in danger by Unesco.1996 First Congo War begins. Laurent Kabila’s forces occupy northeast Congo, includingmuch of Virunga. They go on to take Kinshasa in May 1997 and Kabila becomespresident, renaming Zaire the Democratic Republic of Congo.May 1997August 1998Soco lists on the London Stock Exchange.Second Congo War begins, claiming millions of victims. It formally ends with theestablishment of a unity government in 2003.1999 Patrick Maugein and Rui de Sousa buy a stake in Soco and join the board as chairmanand non-executive director respectively.January 2001Joseph Kabila becomes President of Congo after his father’s assassination.2003 Shell commits not to explore or pump oil in world heritage sites as does theInternational Council on Mining and MetalsAugust 2005October 2005June-July 2007December 2007August 2008June 2010July 2010December 2010Soco signs an agreement for an offshore oil block in Congo-Brazzaville, its firstacquisition in central Africa. A private company set up by a presidential advisor, whoas the head of the state oil company oversaw the bidding process for the block, gets a10% stake in the block.Soco Chairman Maugein and director de Sousa are named in the official inquiry intothe Iraqi oil-for-food scandal. Both deny any wrongdoing. The following year Maugeindies and is replaced by de Sousa as chairman.Seven mountain gorillas are killed in Virunga in a few weeks. Pictures of villagerscarrying the slain silverback Senkwekwe are published around the world.Soco signs a production sharing contract for Block 5 Albertine Graben, over half ofwhich overlaps the Virunga National Park.Emmanuel de Merode, a Belgian conservationist, is nominated Director of VirungaNational Park.Soco’s production sharing contract for Block 5 is ratified by presidential decree.Regional MP Célestin Vunabandi starts working as a consultant for Soco according tohis LinkedIn profile. This lasts until August 2011.The provincial High Court of North Kivu mandates a member of park staff toinvestigate allegations of wrongdoing by Soco.2010 – 2011 About 5,000 tourists visit the park, bringing in over $1 million in 2010 and 2011combined.

Drillers in the mist | September 201425February 2011March 2011May 2011The head of the Congolese national parks authority says that a team of Soco officials,accompanied by a local MP “forced” their way into the park. Soco denies forced entry.Congo’s environment minister suspends Soco’s oil exploration in Block 5 and rejectsthe company’s environmental assessment as “superficial”.Soco signs an agreement with the ICCN under which the national parks authorityallows Soco to enter the park. Money is paid directly to Guy Mbayma at the ICCNwho coordinates on-the-ground activities, according to the ICCN head.1 July 2011 The UK Bribery Act enters into force.September 2011The Congolese environment ministry gives Soco permission to conduct an aerial surveyin Block 5.2011 – 2012 Activists in the town of Goma opposing oil exploration receive death threats by textmessage. Three activists flee Goma in fear for several months in 2012.March 2012March 2012Guy Mbayma, Soco’s “focal point” at the national parks authority is filmed undercovertelling Virunga rangers that they will be paid “money, money, money” if they supportoil exploration and will be fired if they don’t.Activists and traditional chiefs gather in Vitshumbi and “condemn any explorationand… any production of oil in the middle of Virunga”.1 April 2012 A pro-oil counter-demonstration is held in Vitshumbi. Afterwards Soco agents handlocal organisations envelopes saying, “Don’t say oh, Soco sent money”.4 April 2012 Former rebels mutiny from the Congolese army and begin the M23 rebellion.15 April 2012 Tourism and gorilla trekking in Virunga is halted due to the conflict.13 June 2012 Soco’s operations supervisor and a subcontractor are filmed undercover in Goma byMélanie Gouby for a documentary, Virunga. The subcontractor says Soco’s oil operationhas paid money to rebels. Lechenault responds by saying payments aren’t madedirectly. “That’s why we subcontract that shit,” he says. Soco has denied paying rebels.15 June 2012 Members of the naval force guarding a Soco team stab a Virunga ranger in theankle, according to a ranger present. Soco says “we are in no way responsible forthe reported incident”.July 2012A study by the International Crisis Group warns that major oil discoveries in easternCongo “would exacerbate deep-rooted conflict dynamics”.6 July 2012 Unesco’s World Heritage Committee calls on the Congolese government to “reviseits authorisations and not to grant new authorisations for petroleum and miningexploration and exploitation” in Virunga.20 July 2012 Soco increases its stake in Block 5 to 85%.September 2012“The UK opposes oil exploration within Virunga”, says the British Foreign Office.It urges Congo to “fully respect” international conventions it has signed.20 November 2012 M23 capture the regional capital, Goma, and hold it until 2 December.29 November 2012 The Belgian parliament passes a resolution calling for the cancelling of oil rights inVirunga.13 December 2012 The European Parliament passes a resolution urging the Congolese government toprevent damage to Virunga from oil exploration.

26 Drillers in the mist | September 2014May 2013 Total announces that it will not seek to explore for oil in Virunga in its Block 3.In February 2014 Total announces a “no-go” policy on world heritage sites.May 2013 Major Feruzi, Soco’s military liaison officer, tries to bribe a senior Virunga ranger –Rodrigue Katembo - to spy on de Merode, the head of the park. He suggests that theranger meets Soco’s security contractors, SSC.4 June 2013 German parliament passes a motion expressing concern about possible oil explorationin Virunga National Park.July 2013July 2013July 2013September 2013September 2013September 2013November 2013February 2014Major Feruzi introduces the senior Virunga ranger to Pieter Wright of SSC, describinghim as “my boss”. The three men discuss finding reliable rangers to collaborate withSoco. The ranger is handed an envelope with $50, with Wright saying it is “just to saythank you”.Major Feruzi introduces the senior Virunga ranger to Pieter Wright of SSC, describinghim as “my boss”. The three men discuss finding reliable rangers to collaborate withSoco. Wright hands the ranger an envelope with $50: “just to say thank you”.A member of Nyakakoma fishermen’s committee – site of Soco’s base camp - isarrested, reportedly on the orders of Major Feruzi, shortly before he was due to speakabout oil.WWF files a complaint against Soco alleging that the company has “violated multipleprovisions of the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises”. 148 Soco disputes theallegations.An activist with a local human rights group is arrested by navy officials for allegedlytaking photographs of Soco’s camp in NyakakomaAfter opposing the construction of a communications antenna, park ranger RodrigueKatembo is arrested, threatened and beaten by government security forces supportiveof Soco before being held without charge for 17 days. Soco denied any involvement,although its statement quoted its ally Guy Mbayma justifying the arrest.The M23 is defeated in a Congolese army offensive backed by the UN. Heavy fightingin and around the park.Virunga reopens to tourists.15 April 2014 Emmanuel de Merode is shot in an attempted assassination. He had submitteda report on Soco’s activities to the public prosecutor in Goma earlier in the day.17 April 2014 Feature-length documentary Virunga premieres at Tribeca Film Festival in New York,featuring undercover footage of Soco employees and supporters in Congo.April 2014April 2014May 2014Threatening text messages are sent to local activists in Goma. One says, “Don’t thinkthat if we missed your Director [de Merode] that we will also miss you”.Soco starts six weeks of seismic testing in Lake Edward, inside Virunga.WWF say two of its staff in Goma have received death threats.11 June 2014 Soco issues a joint statement with WWF. The company says it would cease oiloperations in Virunga unless Unesco and the Congolese government agree thatthey “are not incompatible with World Heritage status”. WWF withdraws its OECDcomplaint. A Global Witness statement says Soco’s announcement could be a ruse.

Drillers in the mist | September 201427ENDNOTES1 Soco is one of the UK’s 200 largest companiesby market capitalisation accordingto data from the London Stock Exchangefrom 30 April 20142 Soco statement, 19 December 2012,“Soco’s statement on the European Parliament’sjoint resolution on the DRC, and theBelgian government’s resolution to protectVirunga national park”, http://www.socointernational.com/socos-statement-on-the-european-parliaments-joint-3 The Times, 11 June 2014, “Mountain gorillasin the midst of battle for oil in Africa’soldest national park”, http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/environment/article4114929.ece. He told the Times: “It forces DRC andUnesco to come to some kind of accommodation,as has been demonstrated inmany other places where they have accommodatedthings in world heritage sitesby redrawing boundaries”4 “More than 30,000 fishermen rely on LakeEdward in Virunga for their livelihoods.” –WWF, 12 June 2012, http://blogs.wwf.org.uk/blog/wildlife/virunga-how-can-sococall-this-a-burnt-out-savannah/5 Wall Street Journal, 17 May 2013, “TotalRules Out Oil Exploration in Congo’sVirunga National Park”, http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20130517-703772.html6 Joint Statement by SOCO International plc(‘SOCO’) and WWF, 11 June 2014, http://www.socointernational.co.uk/joint-statement7 WWF, 11 June 2014, “Oil company Soco notto drill in Virunga World Heritage Site”,http://wwf.panda.org/wwf_news/?223211/Oil-company-Soco-not-to-drill-in-Virunga-World-Heritage-Site8 London Stock Exchange (as of 30 April2014), from London Stock Exchange,2014, List of All Companies, available at:http://www.londonstockexchange.com/statistics/companies-and-issuers/list-ofall-companies.xls.Soco’s revenues were$621.6 million in 2012, and $608.1 millionin 2013. See Soco International, AnnualReport and Accounts, 2013, p. 11. “In 1991,SOCO International, Inc. (“SOCO International”)was formed as a corporation 90%owned by the Company and 10% ownedby Edward T. Story, who also became Presidentof SOCO International.”, Snyder OilCorporation, Proxy statement for annualmeeting of stockholders to be held May 201998, EDGAR online, http://google.brand.edgar-online.com/EFX_dll/EDGARpro.dll?FetchFilingHtmlSection1?SectionID=57391-53305-60296&SessionID=LiOdFF6350fNk27.9 Soco International registered in the UKon 10 January 1997, see company listingat UK Companies House. STATE magazine,undated, “Roger Cagle’s Lofty Aspirations”,http://statemagazine.okstate.edu/Roger_Cagle.10 See for example, Soco statement on 24March 2003, “SOCO is an international oiland gas exploration and production company,headquartered in London. The Companyhas interests in Vietnam, Mongolia,Yemen, Libya, Tunisia, Thailand and NorthKorea with production operations in Yemen,Tunisia and Mongolia”, http://bit.ly/1tgVDBh11 Daily Mail, 20 February 2008, “Cityinterview: Soco boss, Ed Story”, http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/markets/article-1618870/City-interview-Soco-boss-Ed-Story.html12 Soco Annual Report 1999, page 7.13 Soco Annual Report 199914 Soco Annual Report 200615 Undercover recording in Congo Brazzavillefrom 5 June 201316 Independent Inquiry Committee into theUnited Nations Oil-for-Food Programme,27 October 2005, “Report on ProgrammeManipulation”, pp. 176-189.17 Wall Street Journal, 11 March 2004,“The Oil-for-Food Scandal”, by ThereseRaphael, http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10789673319155215618 See Global Witness, 2005, “Congo oiltrading scandal implicates top governmentofficials”, http://www.globalwitness.org/library/congo-oil-trading-scandal-implicates-top-government-officialsand Soco’s2008 Annual Report (p. 2) says that AOGChad a 10% stake in Marine XI.19 Patrick Maugein and Rui de Sousa “havean interest” in Quantic Limited, accordingto Soco’s 2004 Annual Report (p. 50).Quantic has a 15% stake in the companythat holds Soco’s Congo Brazzaville assets,see Soco’s 2013 Annual Report (p. 88)20 The Times, 26 September 2013, “Tempus:waiting for hoopla over Zoopla”, MartinWaller, http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/business/columnists/article3879073.ece(behinda paywall). For BMO Capital Markets andRBC Capital outperform ratings see: http://www.mideasttime.com/soco-internationalplc-receives-outperform-rating-frombmo-capital-markets-sia/119210/from17 April 2014 and http://www.americanbankingnews.com/2014/08/28/rbc-capitalreiterates-outperform-rating-for-socointernational-plc-sia/from 21 May 2014.21 Soco International’s Block 5 was approvedby Ordonnance no. 10/044 on 18 June2010 as reported in Congo’s Journal Officiel,22 June 201022 Letter from Cosma Wilungula to the« Procureur Général près la Cour d’Appel deGoma », 17 February 2011.23 Testimony from park rangers24 Letter from Cosma Wilungula to the« Procureur Général près la Cour d’Appel deGoma », 17 February 2011. The complaintwas transferred to the Supreme Court inKinshasa but no more was heard of the case,according to a source familiar with the affair.25 Bloomberg, 17 February 2011, “Congo’sWildlife Authority Says That it PressesCharges Against Soco”, Michael Kavanagh,http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-02-17/congo-s-wildlife-authority-pressescharges-against-soco.html26 Ministère de l’Environnement, 17March 2011, “Communiqué de presse:Le gouvernement congolais suspend laprospection pétrolière pour sécuriser leParc des Gorilles de Montagne », availableat : http://www.rse-et-ped.info/IMG/pdf/RDC_Ministere_cp17mars11_1_.pdf27 José Endundo letter to Congolese PrimeMinister, March 2011, “Concerne: CPP-RDC/SOCO – Bloc V Rift albertin (PNVi)”,No. 665/CAB/MIN/ECN-T/27/JEB/01128 Soco annual report 2012, p. 1829 Email sent by Soco International to GlobalWitness in October 2012 saying that theagreement was signed by “two seniorfigures in ICCN (the Chairman of the Boardand the Director General)”. The DirectorGeneral of ICCN is Cosma Wilungula. TheChairman was Yves Mobando Yogo, whois also President of the National AssemblyNatural Resources committee discussingthe oil law.30 The agreement between Soco Internationaland ICCN was first mentioned in a publicdocument by the company 10 monthsafter it was signed, in Soco’s 2011 AnnualReport published in March 2012, whichreferred to “a cooperation agreement withthe Congolese Wildlife Authority (ICCN)”but gave few others details. It was notuntil October 2012 that Soco gave thedate of the agreement and confirmed thatthe company pays “some expenses to theICCN”. Then in March 2013 Soco’s 2012 AnnualReport was published which said that“SOCO pays a fee to the ICCN to monitorour activities whilst inside the park andcontribute towards the cost of providingrangers”. Despite the conflict of interestof Soco funding people monitoring itsown work, Soco would later repeatedlyrefer to the ICCN as being “independentmonitors” – for example in an August 2013statement, which fails to mention theSoco-ICCN accord (http://bit.ly/1wMrKek).31 Soco International, 29 April 2014, “SocoComments on Unfounded Allegations andInaccuracies on the Company’s CurrentActivities in Virunga National Park”, http://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/soco-comments-on-unfounded-allegationsand-inaccuracies-on-the-companyscurrent-activities-in-virunga-nationalpark-257212721.html.See also Soco’s2012 annual report, p. 36: “Soco has beengranted access to the Virunga National Parkunder an agreement with The CongoleseWildlife Authority (also known as InstitutCongolais pour la Conservation de la Natureor ICCN), which exists to protect the park,its biodiversity and its people. Soco paysa fee to the ICCN to monitor our activitieswhilst inside the park and contributetowards the cost of providing rangers.”

28 Drillers in the mist | September 201432 Global Witness interview with CosmaWilungula, 3 June 2014. Asked how muchSoco paid under the 2011 accord, he said:“These numbers are not generally known…I don’t have the exact amount that I cangive you.” In a 27 May 2014 e-mail, GlobalWitness asked Soco: “How much did Socopay ICCN as a result of the May 2011agreement between the two organisations?Why has Soco not published theagreement? How much of the amount paidby Soco was received by Virunga NationalPark and what evidence do you have ofthis?” Soco did not reply to these questions.33 Soco published the November 2013 agreementwith the ICCN on its website in May2014. The agreement gives Soco the rightto “have access, penetrate and circulate inthe park”. Soco agreed to transfer $15k/month ($180k/year) to the ICCN. « Protocold’accord relatif à l’accompagnement etau suivi écologique valant autorisationd’entreprendre des travaux de recherchesscientifiques dans le parc national desVirunga », 6 November 2013. Signed bySerge Lescaut for Soco and Cosma Wilungulafor ICCN : http://bit.ly/VSbDLu34 Letter from ICCN DG Cosma Wilungula toSoco, 3 April 2012, to Soco Deputy DirectorGeneral in the Democratic Republicof Congo: “the ICCN authorised you, inits letter no. 0167/DG/BDG/KBY/2012 of01/03/2012 to carry out an initial missionto the Virunga National Park (PNVi) [inorder to look into] the possibility of reconcilingthe conservation of the unique andirreplaceable biodiversity of PNVi… with oilexploration”, http://bit.ly/1qmBq9i.35 Ibid.36 Ministre de l’Environnement, 9 September2011, Arrêté Ministériel, http://bit.ly/1tOehyb.37 José Endundo letter to Congolese PrimeMinister, March 2011, “Concerne: CPP-RDC/SOCO – Bloc V Rift albertin (PNVi)”,No. 665/CAB/MIN/ECN-T/27/JEB/011: “Onreturn from my trip to Mexico, I noticethat the intervention of my ministry inthe dossier concerning oil exploitation inblock V of the Albertine Rift, which coversa large part of Virunga National Park, ledto a letter from my colleague from the oilministry and polemic in the press.”38 Minutes of meeting between the environmentministry, ICCN and Soco, 27 March2012, seen by Global Witness39 “For the last six years, less than 300 parkrangers have been available to protectthe entire park.”From Virunga NationalPark, 2014, “Four Women Join the Ranksof Virunga’s Park Ranger Force”, http://virunga.org/news/four-women-join-theranks-of-virungas-park-ranger-force/.40 For the full story of the murdered gorillassee, National Geographic, “Who murderedthe Virunga gorillas?” by Mark Jenkins,July 2008, http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2008/07/virunga/jenkins-text41 Virunga Alliance, undated, http://virunga.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/VR-ENGLISH-LONG_FINAL-2.pdf42 BBC, 26 October 2012, “Virunga NationalPark: DR Congo rangers killed”,http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-2009283543 Ordonnance-Loi 69-014 du 22 aout 1969sur la conservation de la nature, article3, available at : http://assets.wwf.org.uk/downloads/oecd_appendix_for_website.pdf. Original French : « Les terres domanialessituées dans les réserves intégrales nepeuvent être ni cédées ni concédées. Ellesne peuvent recevoir d’affectation incompatibleavec la protection de la nature »44 Loi relative à la conservation de la nature,February 2014, Article 25 : « Touteactivité incompatible avec les objectifs dela conservation est interdite dans les airesprotégées…. est nul tout droit accordé dansles limites des aires protégées », http://www.digitalcongo.net/article/97993#345 Ibid., Article 19 : « Pour raison d’intérêtpublic, de recherche scientifique et dansle cadre de la délivrance des permis etcertificats visés aux articles 64 à 67 de laprésente loi, un décret délibéré en Conseildes ministres peut déroger aux mesuresde protection prévues par la présente loi.La dérogation ne peut être accordée qu’àcondition qu’il n’existe aucune autre solutionsatisfaisante et qu’elle ne nuise pasau maintien, dans un état de conservationfavorable, des spécimens des espèces defaune et de flore concernées dans leur airede distribution naturelle. » http://www.digitalcongo.net/article/97993#346 June 2013 World Heritage Committeedecision cited in WWF OCED complaintagainst Soco, p. 15, available at: http://assets.wwf.org.uk/downloads/20130918_wwf_oecd_complaint_against_soco.pdf47 Soco’s response to the film to the BBC on24 April 2014, http://bit.ly/1pPpKxi48 Soco International, 2014, “Block V and theVirunga National Park”, http://www.socointernational.com/current-status49 See English translation of Soco International’sProduction Sharing Agreement for Block5, November 2007, available at: http://www.globalwitness.org/sites/default/files/library/Production%20Sharing%20Agreement%20extract%20in%20English.pdf.50 Mark Power, First Secretary of the BritishEmbassy in Kinshasa reiterated the UK Governmentposition on 4 May 2014: “Our statementon the issue, first issued in September2012 is worth repeating here as I often getasked our position: “The UK opposes oilexploration within Virunga National Park, aWorld Heritage sight [sic] listed by UNESCOas being ‘in danger’. We have informed SOCOand urge the Government of DR Congo tofully respect the international conventions towhich it is a signatory.” See: “Conservation,development and danger in Virunga NationalPark”: http://blogs.fco.gov.uk/markpower/2014/05/04/conservation-developmentand-danger-in-virunga-national-park/.51 The Belgian Parliament’s resolution waspassed on 29 November 2012 and availablehere: http://www.lachambre.be/FLWB/pdf/53/2350/53K2350011.pdf. TheEuropean Parliament’s resolution waspassed on 13 November 2012 and availablehere: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?pubRef=-//EP//TEXT+TA+P7-TA-2012-0511+0+DOC+XML+V0//EN. The GermanParliament’s resolution was passed on4 June 2013 and is available here: http://savevirunga.files.wordpress.com/2012/04/german-parliament-motion-eng.pdf. See“Virunga: The real price of energy” inEnergy Post on 2 August 2013 for moreinformation: http://www.energypost.eu/index.php/virunga-the-real-price-of-energy/.52 “Major Feruzi was assigned by the FARDCto act as Military Liaison Officer duringSOCO’s movements around the area.”Soco, 26 July 2013, “Statement on allegations”,no longer on Soco’s website.Still available on ‘Save Virunga’ website:http://savevirunga.com/2013/07/26/july-15th-breaking-news-new-cases-ofintimidation-and-arrests-of-local-community-leaders-opposing-oil-exploration-invirunga-np/53 Document from the Parquet de Grande Instancedu Nord-Kivu à Goma, 13 December2010, seen by Global Witness.54 Undercover recording in eastern Congofrom 12 May 2013 included in Virunga(2014) documentary55 Ibid56 Ibid57 Source working in Congo’s national parks.58 Undercover recording in eastern Congofrom 12 May 201359 Undercover recording in eastern Congofrom 10 July 201360 Soco’s response to the film to the BBC on24 April 2014, http://bit.ly/1pPpKxi61 Ibid62 “Pieter Kock, SSC” took part in Soco’soperations in Block 5 according to a 26 July2013 “Statement on allegations”, no longeron Soco’s website (see above). When PieterKock was kidnapped by rebels in 2011, “MrCagle [Soco Deputy CEO] said the SouthAfrican national worked for DeminingEnterprises International, a South Africansecurity outfit,” in Financial Times, 16 February2011, “Congolese rebels release securitycontractor”, http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/abbf905e-3a11-11e0-a441-00144feabdc0.html#axzz3Bh0vUNTJ. DEI website, “DEIalso has a sister company (Specialised SecurityConsultants) that provides additionalservices such as security advisers, to meetour clients’ requirements in Africa, as wellas around the globe.”, http://www.idemining.com/last accessed 09/05/14.63 In French, Directeur technique et scientifiqueor DTS.64 Letter from ICCN DG Cosma WILUNGULA toSoco, 3 April 2012, to SOCO Deputy DirectorGeneral in the Democratic Republic ofCongo: “I have just appointed the Directorof the Technical and Scientific Department,as a focal point of SOCO to the ICCN”65 Undercover recording in eastern Congofrom 21 March 201266 Ibid67 Ibid

Drillers in the mist | September 20142968 Letter from Guy Mbayma, 31 October2013, to the Director General of Congo’sNational Park’s Authority (the ICCN)69 Undercover recording in Kinshasa, Congofrom 27 November 201370 His full title is : « Le ministre du Plan etsuivi de la mise en œuvre de la révolutionde la modernité », See http://www.plan.gouv.cd/ministre.php71 For example: Digital Congo, 24/7/10:“Forage pétrolier on-shore au Bas-Congopar la société SOCO : pari gagné de JosephKabila!” (http://www.digitalcongo.net/article/68671); Le Climat Tempéré, 17/8/10,“Bientôt de l’or noir au Nord-Kivu” (http://www.leclimat.cd/News/Details/Provinces/bientot-lor-noir-au-nord-kivu).72 On meetings with NGOs and local politicians,see the article from Le Climat Tempéré,cited above. For meetings with localcommunities, see Vunabandi’s Linkedinprofile, cited below.73 Undercover recording in Kinshasa from 10December 201374 Full sentence: “Bon, bien sûr il faudrait quetoutes les fois où je faisais les descentes, oùtoutes les fois où je faisais ces exercices, ondevait m’indemniser et chaque mois j’étaisengagé c’est vrai.” The word indemniser isambiguous. The Hachette dictionary definesit as : « Dedommager qqn de ses pertes, deses frais etc. (eg. les sinistrés ont été indmnisés)» (Translation : Compensate someonefor his losses, his fees etc. (eg. the disastervictims have been indemnisés)). However,its common usage indicates that it could bea euphemism for payments that go beyondthe reimbursement of expenses. In commonusage it is used in phrases such as indemniserun stagiare (compensate an intern)or indemniser les descendants d’esclaves(compensate the descendants of slaves).75 Célestin Vunabandi LinkedIn profile, http://www.linkedin.com/pub/celestin-vunabandi/44/716/137(accessed 22 May 2014).Original French: “Facilitation et accompagnementpour la mise en œuvre du projetd’exploration pétrolière dans le bloc V duGraben Albertine ».76 Undercover recording in Kinshasa, Congofrom 10 December 2013. Global Witnesstranslation of: «Bref j’ai des très bons rapportsavec les politiques de toutes les autrescommunautés. C’est certainement un atout,sur lequel les gens de Soco ont bien misé ».77 Soco Security note (Travel procedure toBlock V & visitor information leaflet), December2011. See also his LinkedIn profile(http://bit.ly/1l82LdK). On Damas Vunabandibeing Celestin Vunabandi’s brother:local sources, speaking on condition ofanonymity, in interviews 5-6 June 2014.78 Global Witness interview with local activists.79 L’Avenir, « Forage pétrolier on-shore auBas-Congo par la société SOCO : parigagné de Joseph Kabila ! », 24 July 2010,http://www.digitalcongo.net/article/6867180 Global Witness interviews with peoplein North Kivu who have witnessed theMwami’s attendance at meetings with Soco.81 On Kamari’s position as the Mwami’s numbertwo in Nyakakoma, our sources includea park ranger and North Kivu sources.82 Undercover recording in eastern Congofrom 26 July 201383 Undercover recording in eastern Congofrom 25 June 201284 In the recorded conversation, Kamarirecounts a conversation with Vunabandi:“Last time I spoke with the minister …. heasked me: ‘Kamari, is Rodrigue a Mututsi orMundande?’ I said to him: ‘No he is Muhavu’.He replied: ‘He sounds like your kin, whydon’t you talk it over with him? So he cancome to an understanding with us to liftthe blockage and start researching ourresources.’” Later in the conversation, he says:“We will speak with the Mwami today andthe Mwami will speak with the minister andthey will contact you directly in person, isn’tit? The security of Soco’s people should bein the hands of agent Rodrigue and his men,but this should stay with you (it should staybehind closed doors), are you getting me?Because they are powerful people as well, sowhatever we can do we can do it that way.”85 Undercover recording in eastern Congofrom 13 June 201286 Soco International, 26 July 2013 “Statementon allegations”, no longer on Soco’swebsite (see above)87 UK Bribery Act 2010, Articles 6 and 7, availableat: http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2010/23/pdfs/ukpga_20100023_en.pdf88 “Agents can include third party agents,consultants, distributors, joint-venturepartners, and others.”, US Securities andExchange Commission website - http://www.sec.gov/spotlight/fcpa.shtml89 Jones Day, 2010, “Uncle Sam is Watching”,http://www.jonesday.com/files/Publication/22897a58-0ee6-4985-b201-bf0f16cde04d/Presentation/PublicationAttachment/978494d7-64f8-42e8-8ace-c87843c7d6b5/unclesam.pdf:“According to US authorities, even if theparent corporation does not explicitlyauthorise the illegal acts by the subsidiary,the parent may nonetheless incur liability ifit was aware of and failed to stop the illegalacts (which may constitute implicit authorisation);if it acted with “wilful blindness”(being aware of a high probability that abribe will be paid and taking steps to avoidlearning that fact); or if it discovered theillegal acts after the fact and then acceptedmonetary benefits arising from such acts”90 Soco Annual Report 2012, p. 5991 See Soco International Plc, 20 August 2010,“Notice of Extraordinary General Meeting”,http://bit.ly/1zPSSFn, p. 18: “Edward Storyand Roger Cagle have service agreementsboth dated May 1997 with SOCO ManagementServices, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiaryof the Company, pursuant to which theyare employed as the Group’s President andChief Executive Officer and the ExecutiveVice President, Deputy CEO and Chief FinancialOfficer respectively.” Soco’s 2013 AnnualReport (p. 45) says that Mr Story and Cagle’scontract with the company dates from 14May 1997. Soco Management Services, Inc. isa Delaware (US) company, number 2698180.92 Loi no. 05/006 du 29 mars 2005 modifiantet complétant le décret du 30 janvier 1940portant code penal dite « loi anti-corruption» : Article 147biz (2) : corruption is : « lefait d’offrir ou d’octroyer directement ouindirectement à un agent public ou à toutautre personne des sommes d’argent toutbien ayant une valeur pécuniaire ou toutautre avantage tel qu’un don, une faveur,une promesse ou un gain pour lui-même oupour autrui personne physique ou morale envue de l’accomplissement ou de l’omissiond’un acte dans l’exercice de ses fonctions ».93 Communiqué final de l’atelier de reflexionsur la problématique de l’exploration etl’exploitation du pétrole du Bloc V du RiftAlbertin par la multinationale Soco, 24March 2012, Vitshumbi, available at : http://savevirunga.files.wordpress.com/2012/04/vitshumbi-communiquc3a9-final.pdf94 Undercover recording in Vitshumbi, easternCongo from 1 April 201295 Undercover recording in eastern Congofrom 30 July 2012.96 Undercover recording in Kinshasa, Congofrom 30 June 201397 IDPE, 28 September 2013, “Indignation inthe face of intimidating behavior on thepart of the SOCO-ICCN coalition”, Openletter to the governor of North Kivu, http://www.congoforum.be/upldocs/28-09-13%20Lobbying%20SOCO-ICCN_EN.pdf98 Soco International, 26 July 2013 “Statementon allegations”, no longer on Soco’swebsite (see above)99 Ibid.100 IDPE, September 2013 (see above)101 IDPE, September 2013 (see above)102 Réseau CREF, CREDDHO, IDPE and SOPR, 24July 2013, “Press release N° 01/2013 of theConsortium… on the sustainable managementof natural resources in the VirungaNational Park103 Constitution of the Democratic Republicof Congo, Article 188: «Les Forces arméessont républicaines. Elles sont au service dela Nation toute entière. Nul ne peut, souspeine de haute trahison, les détourner àses fins propres. Elles sont apolitiques etsoumises à l’autorité civile».104 Undercover recording in eastern Congofrom 13 August 2013105 Letter from Patrick Alley, Global WitnessDirector, to Roger Cagle, 17 October 2012106 Ibid107 Letter dates from 2012108 Journaliste en danger (JED), 11 October2013, “Armed men attack foreign correspondentin Democratic Republic of Congo”,http://www.ifex.org/democratic_republic_of_congo/2013/10/11/armed_attack/109 Soco, 16 June 2012, “Statement on theHelicopter Incident/Virunga National Parkon 15 June 2012”, http://savevirunga.com/2012/06/17/socos-statement-onincident-virunga/110 Recorded interview in eastern Congo witha ranger, 25 June 2012

30 Drillers in the mist | September 2014111 Synchronicity Earth, 3 October 2013,“Joint statement of NGOs on the arrest ofVirunga Park Ranger, Rodrigue KatemboMugaruka”, http://www.synchronicityearth.org/blog/2013/10/pressrelease-virungapark-ranger-rodrigue/112 Soco, 1 October 2013, “Statement in responseto recent media allegations”, http://bit.ly/XXPLQk113 Radio Okapi, 24 September 2013, “Nord-Kivu: le conservateur principal du parc desVirunga aux arrêts à Goma », http://bit.ly/1sO2zlh114 Letter from Guy Mbayma, 9 March 2014to the Director General of the Congolesenational parks authority (the ICCN)115 Human Rights Watch said in its June 42014 report “DR Congo: investigate attackson oil project critics”: “Katembo toldHuman Rights Watch that on September3, Dr. Guy Mbayma Atalia, the technicaland scientific director for the ICCN andthe agency’s focal point with SOCO at thetime, had warned him that if he continuedto oppose SOCO’s activities in the park,he would be killed. In an interview withHuman Rights Watch on April 23, 2014,Mbayma denied this allegation and said hehad nothing to do with Katembo’s arrest.”116 Undercover recording in eastern Congofrom 14 June 2012117 Undercover recording in eastern Congofrom 25 June 2012118 Undercover recording in eastern Congofrom 5 June 2013119 France 24, Belgian head of wildlife reserveshot in DR Congo, 17 April 2014: “TheBelgian MP said de Merode had called himfour hours before the attack to say he wasdriving to Goma to file a report on activitiesby the British-based Soco oil company. “Twoto three years ago, a prosecutor asked thepark authority to investigate some factsabout Soco,” de Donnea said. “Park rangerscollected evidence in the report that wasfiled yesterday.”” (http://www.france24.com/en/20140416-virunga-merode-nationalpark-shot-congo-kivu-drc/).120 BBC News, 16 April 2014, « Belgian Emmanuelde Merode shot in DR Congoambush”, http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-27049627. Sources familiarwith the affair have told Global Witnessthat Emmanuel was hit by two of the bulletsfired at his car121 La Libre Belgique, 15 April 2014, “Le directeurbelge du parc des Virunga hors dedanger », http://bit.ly/1pcaQvJ122 Rui de Sousa, 17 April 2014, « Droit deréponse de la société Soco International »,available at : http://bit.ly/1pcaQvJ123 The Times, 22 April 2014, “UK firm testsfor oil in Congo heritage site”, http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/environment/article4069344.ece(behind a pay wall)124 Message received at 18:31 Goma timeon 20/04/2014 from +243 997078925 inFrench: “ unitil de change de voiture car nskenesons toutes vos voiture et ns sommespartout ou vs passe avec vtre equipe. necroyez ps ke si ns avons rater vtre directeurk’on peut vs rate aussi ».125 Message received at 17:01 Goma timeon 21/04/2014 from +243990652229 inSwahili: “weyeunawazakuandikaitaachahatutoshepetrolemutakufaburesawa DeMerode”, translated into English as : « You,you think to write will hinder us extractingoil.!!! You’ll die for nothing like De Merode”126 WWF staff threatened over Virunga, 12May 2014 ; http://www.wwf.org.uk/wwf_articles.cfm?unewsid=7160127 Rodrigue: “Soki a essayé de kidnapperun cadre de Soco, il est parti avec lui enbrousse. C’est par là que Soco a comprisqu’il fallait commencer à travailler avec lesgroupes armés. »128 Acknowledging both Lechenault and John’sassociation at the time with the company,Soco told the BBC: “Soco states that thetwo individuals recorded – Julien andJohn – no longer work for Soco.” Soco’sresponse to the film to the BBC on 24 April2014, http://bit.ly/1pPpKxi129 Undercover recording in eastern Congofrom 13 June 2012 included in Virunga(2014) documentary. The conversation wasin English.130 Ibid.131 Undercover recording in eastern Congofrom 26 July 2013132 Soco’s response to the film to the BBC on24 April 2014, http://bit.ly/1pPpKxi133 Undercover recording in eastern Congofrom 11 November 2012 included inVirunga (2014) documentary134 Ibid135 Financial Times, 21 February 2011, “Battleover oil in Congo national park”, availableat: http://on.ft.com/1teRWfo136 Quantic Limited, part-owned by de Sousa,has a 15% stake in Soco’s Congolese business,Soco Annual Report 2012137 Soco, 30 July 2013, “Soco International’sstatement on current activities in VirungaNational Park”, http://bit.ly/1vU3HWN138 Undercover recording in eastern Congofrom 13 June 2012 included in Virunga(2014) documentary139 Soco’s response to the film to the BBC on24 April 2014, http://bit.ly/1pPpKxi140 Ministry of Environment, 4 August 2012,Letter from Congolese EnvironmentMinister Bavon N’sa Mputu Elima to thePermanent Secretary of the National Commissionfor UNESCO,141 http://prn.to/1wIwamn142 The Times, 11 June 2014, “Mountain gorillasin the midst of battle for oil in Africa’soldest national park”, http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/environment/article4114929.ece143 Ed Story’s total pay in 2013 was $3.392mup from $518,000 in 2003 an increase of555%; Roger Cagle’s total pay in 2013 was$2.574m up from $371,000 in 2003 anincrease of 594%. Figures from Soco AnnualReports for 2013 (p. 64) and 2003 (p.39), calculations by Global Witness. Soco’s2013 annual report can be found here:http://bit.ly/1tGQvov. Its 2003 report canbe found here: http://bit.ly/W3xCPa.144 See Soco Annual Report 2013, p. 28: “TheBoard has designated the Chief FinancialOfficer [Roger Cagle] as the executiveresponsible for the Company’s risk managementfunction.” Soco appointed a newCFO in May 2014.145 Save Virunga website, 11 July 2013, “July 8,2013: Norway’s Pension Fund divests fromUK Oil Company SOCO International Plc”,http://savevirunga.com/2013/07/11/july-8-2013-norways-pension-fund-divestsfrom-uk-oil-company-soco-internationalplc/146 Soco’s annual report from 2009 (p. 12)“SOCO hopes to broaden its portfolio inDRC, with its application for a licence overBlock 5, in the Albertine Graben in easternDRC, pending a Presidential Decree and anapplication submitted for a large interiorblock.”147 “Toute la Cuvette centrale est vierge. Ilfaut l’explorer. » From Africa News interview: Africa News interview, July 2012,« Serge Lescaut: «SOCO ne pollue pas leparc de Virunga», available at : http://www.eventsrdc.com/?p=2512148 http://www.wwf.org.uk/wwf_articles.cfm?unewsid=6828

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Global Witness is a UK based non-governmentalorganisation which investigates the role of natural resourcesin funding conflict and corruption around the world.Global Witness is a company limited by guaranteeand registered in England (no. 02871809).Global WitnessLloyds Chambers1 Portsoken StreetLondonE1 8BTmail@globalwitness.orgwww.globalwitness.orgISBN: 978-0-9926910-9-7© Global Witness, 2014Cover art: Laurindo Feliciano www.laurindofeliciano.com