Mugabe ally loses EU sanctions compensation case

A sanctions buster during the Ian Smith regime who went on to bail out President Robert Mugabe has lost the case in which he sought compensation from the European Union for placing him and three of his companies on its sanctions list.

John Arnold Bredenkamp was also asked to pay costs of suits. His three companies involved in the lawsuit were: Echo Delta (Holdings) PCC Ltd, established in Castletown, Isle of Man;  Scottlee Holdings (Private) Ltd, established in Harare; and Fodya (Private) Ltd, established in Harare.

The judgment delivered on 21 July did not disclose how much Bredenkamp sought as compensation.

The General Court of the EU said it was apparent that Bredenkamp, by his own admission, was a close ally of Mugabe and was involved in sensitive political issues of major importance such as negotiations with white commercial farmers whose land the government was compulsorily taking.

He also provided air transport to members of Mugabe’s government and their families.

Bredenkamp was also a supplier to the Zimbabwean government of fuel and arms and acted as an intermediary in connection with mining in the Democratic Republic of Congo during Zimbabwe’s foray into the DRC at the turn of the century.

The European Union imposed sanctions on Zimbabwe in 2002 and lifted them in 2014 but President Robert Mugabe, his wife Grace and the Zimbabwe Defence Industries are still on sanctions.

For those interested in the intricate details, the full judgment is published below. The court however noted that only the paragraphs which the Court considered appropriate to publish had been reproduced.

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