FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Date: 10.06.2025
A formal complaint has been submitted to three Australian institutions — the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), the Australian Federal Police (AFP), and the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions (CDPP) — alleging serious misconduct by FAR Ltd, a company formerly listed on the Australian Securities Exchange.
The complaints, filed by Ousman F. M’Bai, a British and Gambian lawyer, natural resources advocate, and former UK financial crime prosecutor and asset recovery specialist, raise concerns of fraud, corporate misconduct, and unjust enrichment in connection with FAR Ltd.’s oil and gas activities in The Gambia from 2017 to 2023.
Key allegations include:
- FAR Ltd received over USD 500 million from Woodside Energy for its interest in Senegal’s Sangomar oil field, while simultaneously exiting Gambian operations under suspicious terms.
- FAR Gambia Ltd was granted waivers and reliefs from contractual drilling obligations and penalties via two unexplained “Deeds of Amendment” approved by The Gambia’s Petroleum Commission allegedly without public scrutiny or justification.
- Shortly before surrendering its licence, the Gambian government quietly redrew offshore block boundaries under the 2023 Demarcation Regulation, potentially diminishing national access to shared hydrocarbon reservoirs near Senegal’s Sangomar field.
- Key executives departed FAR Ltd following the transaction, and the company engaged a UK intermediary to monetise a USD 55 million contingent payment from Woodside, raising further concerns about asset-stripping and governance failures.
- FAR Ltd may have misled Gambian regulators regarding the commercial viability of the Bambo-1 well, while retaining knowledge of hydrocarbon extensions from the Sangomar field into Gambian territory.
These filings aim to trigger independent investigations into the actions of FAR Ltd and its officers, and to ensure accountability for corporate conduct in developing jurisdictions.
The matter continues to attract intense public interest in The Gambia and across the MSGBC (Mauritania-Senegal-Gambia-Bissau-Conakry) Basin. Mr. Ousman F. M’Bai is calling for international scrutiny, disclosure of all drilling data, and possible restitution of value lost to The Gambia through the alleged misconduct.
This complaint forms part of a wider transparency campaign. On 5 June 2025, M’Bai issued an open letter to shareholders of FAR Ltd calling for accountability and restitution. They did not respond. On 8 June 2025, M’Bai wrote to Woodside Energy, demanding answers about its role and knowledge of FAR Ltd.’s operations in The Gambia. We have given the company five days to respond before further public action.
