Top: A truck transports logs outside Greenville, Sinoe County, on January 3, 2023. The DayLight/James Harding Giahyue
By Varney Kamara
MONROVIA – Horizon Logging Limited, an Israeli-owned logging company with unknown owners, smuggled timber to the Ivory Coast on multiple occasions, valued at US$437,000, A DayLight investigation found.
The two shipments occurred in 2023 and 2024, according to Trademo, a US-based business platform that publishes international trade data. However, those shipments happened outside of LiberTrace, Liberia’s legal timber-trading system.
Of the total value, Horizon shipped US$163,790 in 2023 and US$273,380 in 2024, the data shows. One of its Ivorian buyers is the Abidjan-based Sdma, which offers sea, air and land transport services.
A review of all of Horizon’s export records through LiberTrace shows no trace of the Ivorian shipments. Further review of its trading at the Ministry of Commerce & Industry and the Liberia Revenue Authority produced the same result.
Companies can trade outside LiberTrace and still pay export taxes to the LRA due to weak coordination among public entities. However, Horizon did not pay any taxes for its Ivorian shipments, the LRA records show. This means the exports happened outside the entire government system and were smuggled across the eastern borders. The exports were documented because the Ivorian government declared them under international trade protocols.
Exporting logs outside the legal system violates the Regulation on Establishing a Chain of Custody System. The regulation provides that timber is traced from its origins to the final destination. The idea is a centerpiece of forestry reform and Liberia’s timber trade agreement with the European Union, which has decided to terminate the deal over continued violations.
Ivory Coast, likewise, prohibits the illegal importation of timber, according to the country’s regulations on the import and export of forest products. The laws state that entities engaged in the import of forest products must get approval from the Ivoirian Minister of Water and Forests, and documentation of a timber legal origin.
“Illegal timber extraction and shipments create a compounded loss for Liberia. Communities lose legitimate forest benefits, livelihoods and climate resilience, while government loses revenue and potential economic benefits, says Dayugar Johnson, the lead campaigner at the Civil Society Independent Forest Monitor.
“At the community level, illegal logging and exports can deprive forest-dependent communities of social benefits and other revenues that could support schools, health facilities, roads, water systems and livelihoods, undermining their rights, as well as fueling local conflicts.”
Mystery owners
The illegal shipments are not the company’s only wrongdoing. The DayLight found other issues with Horizon’s ownership. Horizon Minerals BV holds 99 percent of Horizon’s shares, and one Dov Aronvich holds the remaining. However, Horizon Minerals BV does not list its shareholders, a requirement under the Beneficial Ownership Regulation of 2023.
Originating from the Liberia Business Association Act, the regulation requires companies to declare their ultimate beneficial owners or the individuals who own them. It is part of a global scheme to combat financial crimes, including money laundering, terrorist financing, and tax evasion. As part of that fight, the Liberian cabinet approved the establishment of a beneficial ownership registry.
Horizon has been inactive for two years now, according to its business registration certificate. It deserted a 15-year logging contract with the Konobo Community Forest in Grand Gedeh County. It promised to pay the community, build a school, and erect hand pumps, among others, in exchange for harvesting Konobo’s 49,627-hectare forest. Instead, it left unpaid benefits and several logs in the moggy forest and other locations.
Horizon did not respond to The DayLight’s queries for comments.
Augustus Abram, one of its executives, acknowledged receipt of the newspaper’s queries. Later, he denied it was him, even though the newspaper had contacted him earlier this year about Horizon. The DayLight also called his number on official documents and emailed him, but both attempts failed.
Moreover, The DayLight tried contacting Lev Segev, another Horizon executive, but that effort proved unsuccessful. The newspaper then emailed Jamil Ali Fayad, Horizon’s incorporator, but that too did not materialize.