Antwerp-based dredging company Deme, facing prosecution over corruption allegations involving works at the Russian port of Sabetta, was acquitted on Wednesday and will face neither fines nor confiscations.
The Ghent Criminal Court declared the trial inadmissible, ruling that the right to a fair trial had not been upheld for any of the defendants. According to the court, emails presented as evidence of a €12.6m bribe had been obtained illegally.
The case stemmed from the award of a dredging contract at Sabetta Port, located on the Yamal Peninsula in northern Russia.
Investigation launched after rival company cries foul
In 2013, the Russian Ministry of Transport entrusted the Russian company USK Most with the task of selecting the firm that would carry out these works, scheduled between 2014 and 2017. Two main candidates emerged: Deme, and Jan De Nul.
Eventually, Antwerp contractor Deme, operating through its Russian joint venture Mordraga, won the contract, but Jan De Nul alleged that there had been irregularities, and suspected a possible conflict of interest involving an intermediary.
These accusations led the East Flanders public prosecutor’s office to open an investigation in 2016.
FBI asked to search defendants' emails
In 2018, the US FBI was asked to examine the defendants’ emails. Search warrants were issued, uncovering a suspected corruption system in which Sofia M.-N., a former Deme employee, seemed to play a central role.
The investigation revealed that Sofia M.-N. may have received €4.18 million in bribes via shell companies based in Cyprus and Panama, linked to Deme.
An individual with a similar role at USK Most was also believed to have benefited from this financial arrangement.
The prosecutor’s office estimated that a total of €12.6 million, representing 3% of the contract's value, was paid to five recipients.
Deme strikes back with civil lawsuit against detractor
Sofia M.-N., former Deme CEO Alain Bernard and five other individuals, along with three companies linked to Deme, were hauled before the criminal court to answer to these charges.
Jan De Nul NV withdrew from the proceedings after several years. Deme had filed a civil lawsuit against Jan De Nul in 2021, arguing that the evidence had been obtained illegally.
Despite this legal spat, Deme and Jan De Nul are currently partnered within the Belgian TM EDISON consortium to build the artificial Princess Elizabeth energy island off the Belgian coast.
The prosecutor’s office had demanded a five-year prison sentence for Sofia M.-N. and a four-year sentence, part of it suspended, for Alain Bernard. Other defendants faced prison terms of one to three years, depending on their involvement in the case.
Fundamental rights were breached, court finds
The court declared the trial inadmissible, meaning no sentences were handed down. The public prosecutor’s office has the option of appealing this decision.
Citing the violation of a fair trial, the court highlighted that many emails were obtained illegally, thus should not be included in the dossier. It found the whole situation “severe and irreparable,” breaching many fundamental rights such as the right to privacy.
The ongoing war in Ukraine has also had an impact on the case. The court stated that no international legal assistance had ever been requested from Russia, which is at the heart of the alleged crime, something that is not possible due to the current circumstances.
