LOGLINE
Breaking news in the world oil trading capital, Geneva: one of the largest companies, Gunvor, is accused of corruption in the Republic of Congo. Roland and Moke, Swiss and Congolese activists, decide to shed light on this legal case while exposing the operating model of this oil sector little known to the Swiss population. As corruption scandals multiply, the Congo is bogged down in poverty. The film reveals the impact of these companies on developing countries and questions the responsibility of the Swiss authorities who host this oil trading industry while refusing to regulate it further.
TEASER
PROTAGONISTS
Moke Loamba
President of the Association for Human Rights and the Prison, Congo
Brice Mackosso
Permanent Secretary of the Justice and Peace Commission, Congo
Yves bertossa
Senior prosecutor, in charge of complex cases
Department of Justice of Geneva
Sylvain Besson
Journalist, Tamedia
Agathe Duparc
Investigator, Public Eye
Jean-Francois Lambert
Consultant, Lambert Commodities
Lisa Mazzone
Member of Parliament, The Greens
Yves nidegger
Member of Parliament, UDC
Mark Pieth
Swiss expert on corruption
Former Chair of the OECD Working Group on Corruption
Beat rieder
Member of Parliament, PDC
Marc Ummel
Head of Raw Materials Sector, Swissaid
RESOURCES
Conviction of Gunvor's former employee
Judgment of the Federal Criminal Court
Gunvor's conviction
Press release from the Federal Prosecutor's Office
Report by the NGO Public Eye
Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative
Report of the NGO Commission Justice et Paix
Publications of oil contracts in the Republic of Congo
Pre-financing and debt in Congo
Article by Les Echos - 23.09.2017
Article by Les Echos - 12.11.2017
Article by Global Witness - 06.11.2019
Gunvor case in Ecuador
Press release from the Federal Public Prosecutor's Office
Article by Le Temps - 04.08.2021
Other corruption cases linked to oil
Addax - July 2017
Glencore - July 2021
Vitol - December 2020
Petrobras
24heures.ch - 2020
Gotham City - 2018
Le Temps - 2018
Federal Council report
The Swiss commodities sector: state of play and outlook - 30.11.2018
DISCUSSION
The Bern Political Forum, together with les Productions du Noyer, held a discussion on Thursday 18 November 2021 on the following theme:
What are the advantages of transparency rules in raw material trading ?
Participants:
Lisa Mazzone, Member of Conseil des États, Green party - protagonist of the film
Marc Ummel, SwissAid - protagonist of the film
Adrià Budry Carbó, Public Eye
The round table was moderated by journalist Lise Bailat
The recording of the discussion is available here.