THE former Director of Sumitomo in Solomon Islands, Ichiro Abe has admitted in the High Court the Japanese mining firm had obtained the initial award for nickel prospecting in Isabel Province in 2010 through diplomatic pressure, bribery, and mail interference.
The High Court has been hearing one of the biggest court cases in the country instituted by the giant Japanese mining company Sumitomo against Solomon Islands Government, Axiom KB and landowners.
The legal challenge follows the Minister of Mines and Energy’s cancelation of Sumitomo’s preliminary Letter of Intent for nickel prospecting in Isabel Province in 2010 and awarding it to Axiom KB.
Sumitomo claimed that the processes Axiom KB took to obtain its license and register in Solomon Islands was improper.
Yet in court, Mr Abe admitted there was no evidence of bribery against Axiom KB or Solomon Islands Government.
The shocking admission came about when he was asked by Axiom KB’s lawyer Richard Lilley, QC, if Sumitomo’s involvement in JOGMEG (Japan Oil, Gas and Metals National Cooperation) was to ensure diplomatic pressure on the Solomon Islands Government for the removal of a Cabinet Minister in 2010.
According to exhibits of email correspondences between Sumitomo officials Sumio Kudo and Yirotoshi Orchi, presented in court last week implied that the Japanese Ambassador in Honiara requested then Prime Minister Danny Philip for the announcement of tender results and the sacking of the Minister of Mines and Energy.
Mr Abe told the court that the use of the word ‘pressure’ was misleading but however admitted that Sumitomo does make requests through the Japanese Government and JOGMEG, especially when they receive unfair treatment.
When the Axiom lawyer further put to him that it’s in fact Mr Kudo is asking to have the Minister of Mines and Energy sacked and so what Kudo was asking Mr Orchi to do was to arrange for a request to be made to sack the Mines and Energy Minister, Mr Abe responded “it can be taken in that way.”
The sensational revelations continued with email correspondences also exposing the Sumitomo pursuit for the then Minister of Mines and Energy to sign the tender award for it to carry our nickel prospecting on Isabel and have it announced before taking him on a trip to the Philippines to visit a nickel HPAL (High Pressure Acid Leaching) plant.
When further pressed by Axiom’s counsel during cross-examination to answer if the Philippines trip was a form of bribery in that the Minister was required to award the tender to Sumitomo before they could take him on the visit, Mr Abe said yes, adding that they asked for the signing of the award as soon as possible.
Further to his confessions in court about the appliance of pressure, bribery and falsehood by Sumitomo for the obtainment of a nickel prospecting license, Mr Abe also admitted that Sumitomo interfered with a letter from the Attorney General’s Chamber to the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Mines and Energy.
When it was further put to Mr Abe that Mr Orchi sent him a copy of the letter from the Attorney General’s Chambers to the Permanent Secretary to the Ministry of Mines and Energy, Mr Abe replied saying if the letter referred to was the one which stated to the effect that the 3PL restriction would not apply to Sumitomo then it was correct.
When told by the Axiom counsel that it was improper in the Japanese culture to interfere with and receive someone else’s mail, Mr Abe agreed and added that in the course of some fairly intensive business activities, they tried to gather as much information as they could and as a result of those activities they ended up opening the letter though not addressed to Sumitomo.
The former Sumitomo Director, Mr Abe was allowed to return to Japan but will continue to be cross-examined at a later date.
Other Sumitomo and SMM Solomon Limited directors are expected to be called as witnesses too.
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