Samherji, the Icelandic fishing company at the centre of Namibia’s biggest corruption scandal, has announced that it is withdrawing from the country.
The move comes as former justice minister, Sakeus Shanghala and fisheries minister, Bernardt Esau, along with two former employees of South Africa’s Investec, remain in custody.
The accused have been in custody since November following allegations of conspiracy with Samherji to receive payments worth 100 million Namibian dollars ($6.92 million) in exchange for horse mackerel fishing quotas.
Interim Chief Executive, Björgólfur Jóhannsson, said in a statement, that Samherji is currently de-investing its Namibian operations, but did not give a time frame, only saying that the process “will take some time”.
Samherji had tried to sell its assets in Namibia, including a $400 million vessel, before the bribery scandal made international headlines.