Oslo-Yara International ASA has decided to initiate an external investigation related to the establishment and follow-up of Yara’s interest in Libyan Norwegian Fertilizer Co. (Lifeco). Yara notified The Norwegian National Authority for Investigation and Prosecution of Economic and Environmental Crime of the possibility that criminal offences may have occurred before October 2008 in connection with the negotiations preceding the company’s investment in Libya. The external investigation will be headed by Jan Fougner, partner at the Norwegian law firm Wiersholm, Mellbye and Beck. In addition to the Libyan JV, the investigation will also look at potential integrity issues related to other JVs, though Yara said it is not aware of any “red-flags” for potential breach of ethical guidelines related to other JVs. Lifeco was established in February 2009 with a 50 percent Yara ownership, 25 percent National Oil Co. ownership, and 25 percent Libyan Investment Authority ownership. The company owns and operates ammonia and urea plants in Marsa El Brega, Libya, with a combined annual capacity of 900,000 mt of urea and 150,000 of mt merchant ammonia. Lifeco production was temporarily closed down during the second half of February due to the political unrest in Libya, and will remain closed until the situation has stabilized.
Transparency Across the Fertilizer Value-Chain