22 November 2013

Eurasian Natural Resources Corporation PLC ENRC Questions Global Witness on Unfounded Accusations

Following a 25 November 2013 statement by privately sponsored organisation Global Witness, the Eurasian Natural Resources Corporation (ENRC) has issued a response denouncing the series of "false claims, innuendo, and persecutory propaganda."
The most recent statement from Global Witness sought to pressure MPs specifically on ENRC during the upcoming testimony of Financial Conduct Authority Director David Lawton. The organisation has similarly released approximately 12 statements on its website since 2012, singling out ENRC despite the fact that the company has been neither charged nor convicted of any wrongdoing.
"ENRC wishes to be unambiguously clear with regard to the statements contained in the Global Witness press release of Nov. 25: there is zero truth in the conclusions which Global Witness has reached prematurely and without benefit of the facts." said an ENRC company spokesperson. "It is deeply concerning that this organisation has focused so intensely and arbitrarily on one company which has never been proven to have committed any serious violation, while at the same time ignoring the conduct of dozens of other mining companies. It raises questions regarding the group's motivations and sponsorship."
ENRC is proud to have a strong presence in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where it presently employs upwards of 20,000 workers and contributes substantially to the local community in compliance with local and international law. While the company has provided infrastructure, educational facilities, and job training to a large constituency of Congolese people, uninformed academics have attacked ENRC's record without a full understanding of the operations.
ENRC has fully engaged with all authorities on resolving questions and has exercised a zero tolerance policy on corruption.
The Global Witness statement fails to include many key facts, such as the reason
behind ENRC's dismissal of the law firm Dechert, with whom the company has various formal complaints in train and contemplated.
"The aggressive language used by Global Witness not only denigrates and abuses many employees and executives at ENRC who have done absolutely nothing wrong, but it also seeks to deprive the company of its basic right to the presumption of innocence," said the company spokesperson. "Any organisation that claims to advocate for rights must understand this basic principle."

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