Icelandic fishing company Samherji has announced steps to implement a corporate governance and compliance system, with the decision to do this based on experience from the company’s operations in Namibia.
The new system will be part of the Samherji Group’s future management structure and will cover Samherji and all its subsidiaries, according to the company’s interim CEO Björgólfur Jóhannsson who took over the role when Thorsteinn Már Baldvinsson stepped down last year in the wake of allegations about Samherji’s conduct in Namibia.
‘Samherji will develop and implement a holistic compliance system based on the company’s risk structure with focus on, among others, anti-corruption, economic sanctions and anti-money laundering,’ Björgólfur Jóhannsson said.
‘The system is expected to be implemented and up and running later this year. The compliance system will be key in a new internal program, where we will require all employees to take active part in the process to reassess our values, culture and routines. We will implement a system for risk assessment, code of conduct and policies in the compliance system.’
He commented that even though Samherji has faced serious accusations from the media in recent months the company has managed to protect relationships with customers and partners both domestically and abroad and continues to service all customers as normal.
‘Our employees have, as always, done a fantastic job focusing on making sure we deliver product of top quality to the local and international market,’ he said, adding that Samherji is currently de-investing its operation in Namibia, although this will take some time and the process is to be conducted in close dialogue with relevant authorities and in line with international standards and law.
