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Nov. 14, 2022

NEO SENOKO

2 min read

Govt upturns efforts to capture Frazer

Govt upturns efforts to capture Frazer

The High Court of Lesotho

Story highlights

    DCEO says relevant international bodies are looking for the fugitive
    Former Minister Tšolo and Frazer face charges of fraud and corruption in Lesotho

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THE Lesotho government is making efforts to apprehend Robert Frazer of Frazer Solar GmbH after he ignored a High Court directive ordering him to come to Lesotho and testify in a matter in which his company and the government are fighting over a series of contractual breaches related to a renewable energy project signed in 2018.

The Directorate on Corruption and Economic Offences (DCEO) said on Friday that Frazer whose warrant of arrest was issued on April 28 this year, has never been located.

The craft body said relevant international authorities are assisting the government in tracking the missing Frazer.

Frazer Solar is a global developer of utility-scale and nationally significant renewable energy projects.

In January 2020, an independent arbitrator awarded Frazer Solar 50 million Pounds in damages after the contract it signed with the Lesotho government failed to materialise.

In a twist of events, the government charged Frazer and the former Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office, Temeki Tšolo with fraud, corruption, and abuse of power.

Tšolo is alleged to have signed the contract without the approval of either Cabinet or the Minister of Finance.

The case was committed to the High Court on November 8 for trial.

Earlier last week, Frazer Solar announced to have seized the country’s assets in Belgium, including the bank accounts of the Lesotho embassy in Brussels.

In response, Lesotho promised to do everything in its power to protect its assets in Belgium and elsewhere.

The Friday developments follow a ruling by the High Court last week that declared the deal signed by Frazer Solar and Lesotho in 2018 unlawful.  

But in a statement after the court decision, Frazer Solar came out with guns blazing, saying it regarded the ruling as irrelevant because the company has a legal award from an independent arbitrator that is final, unappealable, and globally enforceable.  

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“The judges have confirmed that the government of Lesotho chose the wrong method with which to proceed with Frazer Solar’s renewable energy project. We acted in good faith throughout by proceeding with the procurement rules provided by government officials.

“If the government thought that the High Court’s decision could be used as a further delaying tactic, then they face an unpleasant surprise. The Belgium court’s recent ruling in Frazer Solar’s favour demonstrates our ability to target the Kingdom’s assets and bank accounts anywhere in the world.

“The High Court’s decision will only serve to accelerate our plans to launch fresh enforcement proceedings across multiple legal jurisdictions,” Frazer Solar said in the statement.

 

  

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