Jóhannes Stefánsson

Jóhannes Stefánsson (born 1973) is a former Director of Operations in Namibia for Icelandic fishing company Samherji and a whistleblower known as the source of the Fishrot Files , which included thousands of the company's documents, emails and other files. The files and Jóhannes' testimony allegedly show that the company paid hundreds of millions to senior officials in Namibia to get the country's fishing quota and have led to high profile resignations and arrests in at least 27 countries.

Career Jóhannes worked as a fisherman for ten years before taking more managerial positions at a fish factory. He worked his way to foreman, and then started traveling the world looking for opportunities for Samherji in 2007. where foreign companies weren't allowed to bid on fishing quotes, but local bidders could resell their rights. Samherji sent him to Walvis Bay in Namibia to sign deals and manage the business. Jóhannes says he helped Samherji inflate fees, evade taxes, and engage in transfer pricing violations. The Platform to Protect Whistleblowers in Africa (PPLAAF) took the threats to his safety seriously enough to help him. Jóhannes admits he committed crimes, but believes he acted on behalf of the company, saying "I violated the law on behalf of Samherji while I was there. I was the man to get the quotas and the connections, on my superiors’ orders."

In October 2021, he won the WIN WIN Gothenburg Sustainability Award.