DP World makes the following statement following the judgment, dated yesterday Wednesday 2nd of March 2016, of the Honourable Mr Justice Flaux, in the English Commercial Court, in the case of Republic of Djibouti and others v. Mr Abdourahman Mohamed Mahmoud Boreh and others (2012 Folio 1333).
“We are pleased that the English courts have rejected the allegations made against Mr Boreh, and indirectly against DP World. We have invested significantly in Djibouti over the past 14 years and are proud of the major contribution we have made. We remain disappointed that the Government commenced these proceedings and its arbitration against DP World, which is based on essentially the same charges the court has now rejected. We look forward to continuing to contribute to Djibouti’s economy and its community, and building on our successful and proud record in this region. We will now move forward in earnest to defend our position but we hope that is not necessary as a result of yesterday's judgment.”
Key findings upon which the judgment is based include the following:
Paragraph 934
“None of the payments and agreements of which the claimants complain was a bribe or corrupt payment or a promise of a bribe or corrupt payment for the reasons given at [691] to [793] above”.
Paragraph 793
“For all the reasons set out above, I have concluded that neither the payments made to Mr Boreh or his companies by DP World, nor the proposed shareholding in DCT (never in fact transferred) nor the finder’s fee for DDP (never in fact paid) constituted a bribe or a promise of a bribe to negotiate or agree soft terms in the DCT agreements. Furthermore, none of those matters alleged by the claimants establishes that these were corrupt payments for Mr Boreh’s personal gain which harmed the interests of the Republic”.
Paragraph 833
“For all the reasons set out above, I have concluded that there is no merit in any of the claimants’ complaints about allegedly soft terms having been agreed by Mr Boreh”.
Paragraphs 543-544
“Within four years of the DCT becoming operational in December 2008, the original investment had been repaid. PAID’s combined dividends and royalties from DCT are more than US$46 million per year in relation to a terminal with a life of between thirty and fifty years. After a great deal of fencing in answer to a question from me as to whether she accepted that the terminal had been a great success, Ms Ali accepted that it had:
“MR JUSTICE FLAUX: …I am not asking you to tell me what your case is, I know what the case is. I am asking you, as a Djiboutian with experience of this matter, whether you accept that the container terminal has been a great success for Djibouti? Yes or no.