"JÓHANNES knows that there are no emails that show instructions to pay a bribe. That's why he says I gave the instructions in a different way. Jóhannes Stefánsson is wrong. I gave no such instructions." This was said by Thorsteinn Baldvinsson, chief executive officer (CEO) of Samherji, in a video that the company produced and published a year after the Namibian affair was revealed. In it, he referred to the words of his former subordinate, Stefánsson, a whistleblower in the Samherji affair. However, there are other indications that something different had happened when Samherji quickly became a giant in the Namibian fishing industry, between 2011 to 2019. The revelation was based on data from Stefánsson's possession which included emails, memos, accounting records and bank statements from the operations in Namibia. The database published by Wikileaks showed that Samherji had paid large sums of money to a group of Namibian politicians and influential people, through various means. Although this data showed that the Samherji CEO had held numerous meetings with this group, via emails and memos openly discussing the abnormal relationship between Samherji and the board members, emails from Baldvinsson himself could only be counted on the fingers of one hand. "I had nothing to do with the man," said Baldvinsson during questioning by the district prosecutor shortly after the investigation into the Namibia Fishrot case began in 2019. "I called Baldvinsson and he immediately gave the green light for us to pay James what was intended for the president," Stefánsson told an Al Jazeera journalist in a discussion of the Samherji documents in December 2019. Stefánsson has claimed that the biggest and smallest decisions in the operation of the fishing company in Namibia were made with full awareness, in consultation with and according to orders from Baldvinsson. That is why Baldvinsson phrased his refusal as he did, and there was no evidence to prove the contrary. That is until technicians from the district attorney's office found copies of old communication data from Stefánsson's old computer in March of last year, including a long-lost cell phone which contained thousands of messages that he sent and received over a period of several years. For example, Stefánsson's interactions with nine former colleagues who, like him, are under investigation for bribery and corruption crimes at Samherji in Namibia. This communication data provides better insight into Samherji's dynamics, but at the same time is considerably different from what the CEO and the company itself have drawn up. The most significant difference is in the messages sent, both via SMSes and Skype. More than 1 450 messages were sent between 2013 and 2016, and do not cover the entire five-year period that Stefánsson worked in Namibia. The volume of communication nevertheless amounts to more than one message being exchanged between the two of them every single day during this period. The Skype messages that were found span a two-year period and the call log only a two-month period in autumn of 2015. These communications were presented to Baldvinsson over a year ago during his last interrogation with the district attorney. "Baldvinsson was informed that judging by this, they were in regular communication during this period, but when asked, he chose not to comment on it. He was informed that in a previous hearing in July 2020, he downplayed his communication with Stefánsson, that he was not Stefánsson's superior and that their communication was limited. When asked whether he wanted to comment on it after these messages were submitted, Baldvinsson said he did not intend to comment." During the interrogation, Baldvinsson's attention is drawn to the fact that in their communication Stefánsson does a lot of informing and sending messages. Below is an excerpt from some of the messages that were sent to Baldvinsson which were followed by requests from him for phone calls or video calls: "Hello, I understand that this could end up being 3 000 per tonne. We need to pay this in the next few weeks, maybe one to three." "The minister asked that we agree to this value now, but the aim is for Seaflower to receive its quota permit, which is in preparation, and we are to be their partners." "We're dealing with different people, and it's hopeless to explain to them that they have to wait while they know that others have received something." However, the messages exchanged are not only work-related, but also personal. Other messages show Stefánsson and his girlfriend enjoyed Baldvinsson's hospitality in the Canary Islands, visited him in Akureyri, and went hiking together in July 2013. A few days after the hike, Stefánsson sends a message to Baldvinsson and his two subordinates, which contains information that would later become valuable to those involved. "The minister of fisheries in Namibia and Sacky [Shanghala] were in Angola meeting with the minister of fisheries of Angola to discuss a possible quota for us in cooperation with our people. The meeting was very good and I will possibly go to Angola in the coming weeks." The charges and investigations by the authorities in Iceland and in Namibia largely ignore what is described there. This is why the two men first mentioned in Stefánsson's message are in custody and trying to defend themselves against decades of imprisonment in Namibia. Ministers from the two African countries (Namibia and Angola) are alleged to have, through corrupt and illegal means, made an agreement that gave Samherji tens of thousands of fishing permits. And in return, Samherji paid these ministers hundreds of millions of krónur in bribes, through offshore companies of their relatives in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates. "Specifically, the investigation is into alleged bribery to public officials in Namibia and Angola or to persons who could influence the decision-making of public officials in these countries. The alleged bribery and corruption offences are believed to have occurred in connection with the allocation of fishing quotas in Namibia and Angola during the aforementioned period [...] "Hello, I was in a meeting with my son-in-law, but he came to give me information. Everything is on schedule for next year and we should be optimistic. Also, there is a very strong chance that Big Man will remain in office, elections are now at the end of During the interrogation, Baldvinsson did not want to answer why Stefánsson referred to two individuals only as "son-in-law" and "Big Man" in messages. Baldvinsson should or could know who was being discussed. After the case was exposed in 2019, it was revealed that Samherji's closest collaborator in Namibia was the son-in-law of the Namibian minister of fisheries. The minister had the pseudonym "Big Man" in the communications of these groups, and Baldvinsson was called "Big Boss". The next day, Stefánsson sends Baldvinsson a message that says, among other things: "Hello, now he's asking for everything to be paid in advance [...] He says he needs to distribute money to others (of course, state-owned companies and institutions)." Bank statements show that the transactions in question took place as Baldvinsson had agreed, a few days after these communications took place. He did not want to answer questioning by the district attorney why Stefánsson had been informing him and seeking his approval for this transaction or others, many examples of which can be seen in messages between them. The same applies to James. He is the Namibian influencer who is said to have received the highest payments from Samherji, through his personal shell companies. James came to Iceland at the invitation of Samherji, at least twice, and met with Baldvinsson. "Hello Arna, would you be willing to check with Baldvinsson to see if you can take a seat on the board in Namibia. Thanks." The aforementioned McClure is one of nine people who is a suspect in the district attorney's investigation into the Namibia case. McClure closely with Baldvinsson. As previously mentioned, Baldvinsson has repeatedly denied any involvement in or knowledge of the activities of the Namibian companies. He has also pleaded not guilty to all charges of criminal offenses. Despite being a suspect in the investigation by the district attorney. Neither Baldvinsson nor his other subordinates have been charged or convicted of any of the offenses under investigation. Neither here nor elsewhere. In sworn statements to Namibian courts in 2022, the CEO of Samherji and his subordinates all declared their innocence in the case and denied having any knowledge of what the local men were being tried for. Baldvinsson did so in his statement in a much more emphatic manner than in interrogations in Iceland. There, he denied involvement in even a single quota transaction in Namibia. He said: "If there was anything illegal in that transaction, Stefánsson alone, and no one else, least of all me, was a part of it." The Namibian uses AI tools to assist with improved quality, accuracy and efficiency, while maintaining editorial oversight and journalistic integrity. Keep up with the latest headlines on WhatsApp | LinkedIn Coomunication included emails, closed meetings, phone calls, messages and video calls. "I didn't do anything without his involvement." Stefánsson said. In Kveik in November 2019, he described what had taken place as the instigation of Baldvinsson. Of the 1 500 messages, Stefánsson sends just over 1 000 and Baldvinsson almost 500. "This is a quota for seaflower but goes through an old quota holder." In legal requests to foreign countries, for example, Icelandic authorities have explained their mission and the nature of the investigation as follows: The wording of some of Stefánsson's messages to Baldvinsson piqued the curiosity of researchers. Baldvinsson says later that same day:"Are you going to hit?"and Stefánsson agrees. Again, Baldvinsson requests a phone call and later Stefánsson forwards a message to Baldvinsson in which the CEO of the Namibian state-owned shipping company says "it is necessary to pay this way since many people should receive money and it is difficult to explain to some why others get paid and not them."