"Pandora Papers": in Niger, revelations on dubious attributions of mining permits to Russian companies
Niger: uranium mining.
(Archive image) © AFP PHOTO / PIERRE VERDY
Text by: RFI Follow
1 min
A survey published in Niger this weekend revealed the attribution of mining permits to Russian companies.
Russian businessmen, Senegalese architectural tycoon,
offshore
company
: Nigerien journalist Moussa Aksar, member of the Norbert Zongo Cell for Investigative Journalism in West Africa, and member of the International Consortium of Journalists of investigation (at the origin of the “Pandoras Papers”), deciphers what he qualifies as “
incestuous merry-go-round
”.
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This investigation, published as part of the “Pandora Papers”, is the result of two years of investigations.
"
There was a lack of transparency in the allocation of these mining exploration permits, because the pyramid was reversed,
" explains Moussa Aksar, joined by
Charlotte Cosset
of the Africa editorial staff of RFI.
Instead of the competent services, it is the presidency which allocates mining permits.
So there is a collusion between Russian companies and the Presidency of the Republic, whether under the regime of President Tandja or under the regime of Issoufou Mamadou.
It is all this merry-go-round that we wanted to explain: the Russian companies which created
offshore
companies
in the British Virgin Islands… The Russians were financed by the Russian bank Gazprom Bank and this bank was indexed internationally to have is doing money laundering and these two companies have disappeared… One can wonder whether there was not a money laundering case that was carried out in Niger.
"
► The investigation report can be read
on the Cenozo website
In #Niger, #PandoraPapers reveal the Russians' incestuous merry-go-round in the mining sector, which looks like money laundering.
An investigation by Moussa Aksar (@moussa_aksar) coordinated by @ICIJorg and the #CENOZOhttps: //t.co/L1PgaeZsqx
- CENOZO (@CENOZO_Afrique) October 8, 2021
The ICIJ, the organization that makes the great of this world tremble
Since the “Panama Papers” affair, the great fortunes and the leaders of the planet fear the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), founded in 1997 in Washington by the American Center for Public Integrity and became independent in 2017.
This non-profit organization investigates tax havens and tax evasion, but also large-scale health, social or economic matters.
Among the some 200 members of the consortium from 70 countries, mainly journalists (150 media partners), there are around ten French (including
Le Monde
, Radio France and the Cash Investigation team).
Apart from the “
Panama Papers
”
scandal
(April 2016), the ICIJ revealed in its investigations many other cases including the “
Paradise Papers
” (in 2017, on the
offshore
activities
of personalities and multinationals), the
Implant Files
( 2018, on medical prostheses and implants) but also the
China Cables
(2019, on Beijing's repressive policy towards the Uyghurs).
► The ICIJ website
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