Iceland’s largest fishing conglomerate, Samherji, used an anonymous shell company in the Marshall Islands to launder illegal fishing activities off the coasts of West Africa and to bribe members of the Namibia government. Two ministers have already resigned over allegations that they granted preferential access to fishing grounds in exchange for bribes. Samherji also allegedly used shell companies in other tax havens such as Dubai, Mauritius and Cyprus, and most of the money that flowed through these companies can be traced back to a bank account at the Norwegian state-owned bank.
Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu was indicted on charges of bribery, fraud and breach of trust. These include receiving $200,000 in gifts from a Hollywood producer and an Australian businessman; negotiating a deal with a local newspaper for more favourable coverage of him in exchange for passing legislation to slow the growth of a rival newspaper; and granting regulatory favours worth $500 million to a leading telecommunications company also in exchange for positive coverage of him and his wife.
