Timor-Leste: East Timor Kicks out Judges over ConocoPhillips Tax Fight

Nov 5, 2014 | Reuters
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East Timor has ordered five foreign judges out of the country after a court ruled in favour of U.S. oil and gas producer ConocoPhillips in cases tied to $236 million in disputed tax assessments.

ConocoPhillips operates the Bayu Undan gas field in the Timor Sea between East Timor and Australia. Royalties and taxes from the field are the main source of revenue for East Timor, one of the world's poorest nations.

The young country, which won independence from Indonesia in 2002, had hired international judges and prosecutors to beef up its judicial system, but Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao has been unhappy about the rulings on the tax cases, among other issues.