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The multinational gold mining company AngloGold Ashanti has pledged to clamp down on facilitation payments after admitting that some of its funds have ended up with an African militia group.
AngloGold says one-off payments totalling about $9000 (£4900) were given to the Nationalist and Integrationist Front (FNI) militia in the Democratic Republic of Congo early this year and in 2004, mainly in the form of cargo 'landing fees' paid without senior managers' knowledge. It says the payments were not authorized and were 'contrary to the company's principles and values'.
Bobby Godsell, AngloGold's chief executive, said the deals were 'unambiguously wrong' and promised: 'No further payments in cash or kind will be made to the FNI or any other militia grouping.' The anti-government FNI, which has a significant presence in the gold-rich mining area around the town of Mongbwalu in the north-eastern Ituri district, has been accused of committing atrocities in the Republic of Congo, where the UN is trying to keep the peace.
AngloGold's statement came in the light of a report, The curse of gold, published last month by the US-based NGO Human Rights Watch. The report alleged that through its presence in the country AngloGold was giving tacit support to militia groups.
Although it conceded the specific allegation about payments, the company denies the general claim, saying it has always dealt directly with the government in respect of its exploratory plans to develop a gold mine in the Ituri region.
The company, in which Anglo American has a 50 per cent interest, said 'some level of unavoidable contact' with the FNI was inevitable, but declared: 'Should we find ourselves in a situation where there is pressure on our staff again to yield to extortionate demands, we will consider that to be grounds for our withdrawal from the exploration project.' It accepted the need to take a moral view on whether its presence enhances or obstructs the peace process in the Ituri region. It believes that, at present, creating economic activity is more likely to promote peace, but has promised to review the situation.
AngloGold says one-off payments totalling about $9000 (£4900) were given to the Nationalist and Integrationist Front (FNI) militia in the Democratic Republic of Congo early this year and in 2004, mainly in the form of cargo 'landing fees' paid without senior managers' knowledge. It says the payments were not authorized and were 'contrary to the company's principles and values'.
Bobby Godsell, AngloGold's chief executive, said the deals were 'unambiguously wrong' and promised: 'No further payments in cash or kind will be made to the FNI or any other militia grouping.' The anti-government FNI, which has a significant presence in the gold-rich mining area around the town of Mongbwalu in the north-eastern Ituri district, has been accused of committing atrocities in the Republic of Congo, where the UN is trying to keep the peace.
AngloGold's statement came in the light of a report, The curse of gold, published last month by the US-based NGO Human Rights Watch. The report alleged that through its presence in the country AngloGold was giving tacit support to militia groups.
Although it conceded the specific allegation about payments, the company denies the general claim, saying it has always dealt directly with the government in respect of its exploratory plans to develop a gold mine in the Ituri region.
The company, in which Anglo American has a 50 per cent interest, said 'some level of unavoidable contact' with the FNI was inevitable, but declared: 'Should we find ourselves in a situation where there is pressure on our staff again to yield to extortionate demands, we will consider that to be grounds for our withdrawal from the exploration project.' It accepted the need to take a moral view on whether its presence enhances or obstructs the peace process in the Ituri region. It believes that, at present, creating economic activity is more likely to promote peace, but has promised to review the situation.
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