The Defendants
- Orrön Energy, energy company registered in Sweden and better known under its previous names Lundin Oil, Lundin Petroleum and Lundin Energy. Orrön is faced with a forfeiture claim of SEK 2,3 billion in alleged criminal benefits. It was stripped of 98% of its assets in 2022, shortly after the war crimes indictment was issued, through a merger transaction with Aker BP, but retained the legal liability for Lundin Energy’s Sudanese legacy.
- Aker BP, a Norwegian oil company that acquired Lundin Energy’s oil and gas assets in 2022. Subsequently, an OECD Guidelines complaint was submitted that the transaction involved the perpetual denial of access to remedy and reparation for victims of war crimes.
- Ian H. Lundin, former Chairman of the Board of Directors of Lundin Energy and a major shareholder in both Orrön Energy and AkerBP.
- Alex Schneiter, former Vice-President Exploration, COO and Chief Executive Officer of Lundin Energy.
The Prosecution Team
- Henrik Attorps, lead prosecutor
- Magnus Elving, former lead prosecutor until 2018and deceased in 2023
- Karolina Wieslander, prosecutor
- Martina Winslow, prosecutor
- Ewa Korpi, prosecutor
- Annika Wennerström, prosecutor
- Ewamarie Häggkvist, prosecutor
The Defence teams
Orrön Energy
- Christoffer Monell, Mannheimer Swartling
- Tomas Nilsson, Sju Advokater
- Björn Riese, Jurie
Ian H. Lundin
- Kristoffer Ribbing, A1 Advokater
- Thomas Tendorf, A1 Advokater
- Torgny Wetterberg, A1 Advokater
Alex Schneiter
- Olle Kullinger, Nordia
- Johan Rainer, Advokatfirman Rainer & Aziman
- Per E Samuelsson, Advokatfirman SSW
Legal experts for the defence teams
- Ove Bring, Professor emeritus of international law at Stockholm University
- Steven Kay QC, 9 Bedford Row, QC, main author of A report on the Lundin case
- William Schabas, Professor of international law at Middlesex University and professor of international human law and human rights at Leiden University.
- Suzanne Wennberg, Professor emeritus of criminal law, Stockholm University
- Per Ole Träskman, Professor of criminal law, Lund University (deceased)
- Wiweka Warnling Conradson, Professor of public law at Stockholm University
- Michael Bogdan, Professor emeritus of comparative and private international law, Lund University
- Gustav Lindkvist, legal consultant, administrative law
- Lars Heuman, Professor emeritus of procedural law at Stockholm University
- Dr. Guénaël Mettraux, Professor of law at the University of Amsterdam
- Eric Bylander, Professor of procedural law at Uppsala University
Counsels for the injured party
There are 32 plaintiffs in the case. The counsels for the injured parties are:
- Thomas Bodström, Advokatbyrån Thomas Bodström
- Percy Bratt, Advokatbyrån Bratt | Feinsilber | Harling
Judges
Tomas Zander (presiding judge), Karin Palmgren Goohde, and four lay judges
Other oil corporations with links to the oil war
- Chevron: In the late 1970s, the American oil company Chevron explored the area in Unity State that later became Block 5A and discovered high potential geological structures west of the White Nile. In 1978, Chevron drilled a dry well at Baang, about 50 kilometres west of the White Nile and an equal distance south of Bentiu. The company shut down all operations shortly after the murder of three Chevron expatriate staff in February 1984. In 1990 it gave up its concession.
- International Petroleum Corporation (IPC), the predecessor of Lundin Oil, Lundin Petroleum, Lundin Energy, and now Orrön Energy:, signed IPC signed a contract in February 1997 with the Government of Sudan to exploit oil in Block 5A, an area that was not under the Government’s control. IPC was controlled by Adolf Lundin, the father of the suspect Ian H Lundin and was renamed Lundin Oil later in 1997 and again Lundin Petroleum in 2001. In 2003, Lundin Petroleum sold its stake in Block 5A, Sudan to Petronas, the Malaysian state owned oil major, with a net profit of SEK 930 million, which allowed for extremely successful investments in Norway. In 2020 the name was changed to Lundin Energy and in 2022 to Orrön Energy.
- PETRONAS, OMV, and Sudapet: In 1997, Lundin Energy formed a consortium with PETRONAS Carigali Overseas Sdn Bhd from Malaysia, OMV Exploration GmbH (OMV) from Austria, and the Sudanese state-owned oil company Sudapet. The charges by the Swedish prosecution concern acts by the suspects on behalf of and endorsed by the members of the consortium.
- Talisman Energy Inc (Talisman): A Canadian oil and gas company from Calgary, Alberta. In 1998, Talisman acquired a 25% stake in the consortium that exploited a large area north of Block 5A. In 2001 the Presbyterian Church of Sudan filed a lawsuit against Talisman under the US Alien Tort Claims Act. It was claimed that Talisman aided the Government of Sudan in the commission of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity. Public outrage and staff and investors’ dissatisfaction resulted in the sale of the Sudanese assets in 2003. The US class action suit against Talisman was thrown out in 2005 as the Court held that, while Talisman may have contributed to war crimes, the claimants had failed to establish that Talisman “acted with the purpose to support the Government’s offences”. The decision to apply this extremely high standard for intent caused much controversy and has not been followed by other courts.
Governmental agencies, independent institutions, human rights organisations, and experts
- Gáspár Bíró, UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Sudan from 1993 to 1999. Deceased in 2014
- Leonardo Franco, UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Sudan from 1999 to 2000
- Gerhart Baum, UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Sudan from 2001 to 2003
- Amnesty International, In 2000 Amnesty International published the report Sudan: The Human Price of Oil
- Christian Aid, In 2001 Christian aid published the report The Scorched Earth: Oil and War in Sudan
- Human Rights Watch (HRW) In 2003, HRW published the report Sudan, Oil and Human Rights
- European Coalition on Oil in Sudan (ECOS), ECOS published the report Unpaid Debt in 2010
- The Civilian Protection Monitoring Team (CPMT): The CPMT was mandated to monitor the implementation of the 31 March 2002 Agreement Between the Government of Sudan and the SPLM to Protect Non-Combatant Civilians and Civil Facilities from Military Attack