Overview
- Berlin-based ECCHR submitted a 56-page complaint in Paris on Monday alleging TotalEnergies’ complicity in war crimes and torture tied to 2021 detentions and killings at the Mozambique LNG site.
- The complaint says the company directly financed and materially supported a Mozambican Joint Task Force with housing, food, equipment and bonuses, citing internal documents and photos that indicate prior awareness of abuses.
- France’s national anti-terrorism prosecutor will determine whether to open a formal inquiry and appoint an investigating magistrate, with potential penalties that could extend up to life imprisonment if a case proceeds and results in conviction.
- TotalEnergies, including its Mozambique LNG unit, denies knowledge of the alleged container killings and says its research has found no evidence to corroborate the claims.
- Scrutiny of the project has widened this year, with a separate French probe into other 2021 deaths and lender reviews by UK Export Finance and Dutch authorities that complicate plans to restart the project and cover $4.5 billion in cost overruns.