THE NEW SNAKE OIL?

The report details how Golden Veroleum (GVL), backed by Golden Agri-Resources (GAR), has expanded its palm oil operations in Liberia through a process of intimidation, arbitrary arrests, and flawed consent mechanisms. It highlights a 'legal vacuum' in Liberia's agricultural sector and argues that the company's Memoranda of Understanding (MOUs) with local communities provide negligible benefits while stripping residents of their land rights. The document also notes a suspicious acceleration of land acquisition during the 2014 Ebola crisis and identifies financial ties between GVL and high-ranking Liberian politicians.

• Golden Veroleum (GVL) has expanded its operations in southern Liberia through a pattern of violence and intimidation, including reported instances of community members being violently beaten, threatened, and arrested for protesting the expansion.
• The Liberian government operates in a 'legal vacuum' regarding industrial agriculture, lacking laws to govern how contracts are awarded, how companies operate, or how they are held accountable, unlike the more regulated forest and oil sectors.
• The Memoranda of Understanding (MOUs) used by GVL to claim 'free, prior, and informed consent' (FPIC) are fundamentally flawed, often signed under duress or without sufficient information, and provide negligible benefits to non-employees.
• GVL has maintained suspicious financial relationships with local political elites, such as paying Senator Milton Teahjay an annual rent of US$ 18,000 for a building, which is approximately three times the average regional rental rate.
• During the 2014 Ebola crisis, GVL significantly accelerated its land acquisition, signing four MOUs covering 13,394 hectares between August and October 2014, a period when public gatherings were restricted and NGO oversight was diminished.
• The Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) is viewed by local NGOs as an ineffective mechanism for protecting rights, as its 2014 investigation confirmed community complaints but did not recommend that GVL cease expansion.
• GVL is funded by Golden Agri-Resources (GAR), which is in turn backed by major international banks including Standard Chartered (US$ 710 million), HSBC (US$ 409 million), and Citibank (US$ 358 million).

APA

Global Witness (2015). THE NEW SNAKE OIL? https://globalwitness.org/documents/145/New_Snake_Oil_-_July_2015_-_Final_lores.pdf

Chicago

Global Witness. THE NEW SNAKE OIL? 2015. https://globalwitness.org/documents/145/New_Snake_Oil_-_July_2015_-_Final_lores.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Global Witness |title=THE NEW SNAKE OIL? |date=July 2015 |url=https://globalwitness.org/documents/145/New_Snake_Oil_-_July_2015_-_Final_lores.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{globalwitness2015new, author = {{Global Witness}}, title = {{THE NEW SNAKE OIL?}}, institution = {Global Witness}, year = {2015}, month = jul, url = {https://globalwitness.org/documents/145/New_Snake_Oil_-_July_2015_-_Final_lores.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }