Namibia is preparing for the biggest corruption trial in its history, all about fish quotas, which are very lucrative locally: with nearly 1600km of coastline, fishing is one of the country’s main industries, accounting for about 20% of export earnings. The related financial scandal is named after a 2019 Wikileaks release called the “Fishrot Files” and stretches from Namibia to Iceland, taking in government ministers and involving at least $20m (£16.6m). The name itself “Fishrot” conjures up the unpleasant stench of corruption. A number of prominent politicians and businessmen are accused of running schemes to get control of valuable fishing quotas, for example those held by the state fishing company Fishcor: it is alleged that they then diverted them to the Icelandic fishing company Samherji in return for kickbacks. Samherji, one of Iceland’s most important companies, has strongly denied allegations of bribery. The scandal first broke in November 2019, when WikiLeaks shared over 30000 documents leaked by a former Samherji manager in Namibia, Johannes Stefansson: he alleged that the company had colluded with a group of influential figures to get access to the fishing quotas at below the market price.
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