Soco and its contractors have made illicit payments, appear to have paid off armed rebels and benefited from fear and violence fostered by government security forces in eastern Congo, as they sought access to Africa’s oldest national park for oil exploration. Material gathered as part of an undercover investigation by UK film-makers and reviewed by Global Witness, lays bare the extent of the acts carried out by Soco...and its supporters to further its oil project in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s Virunga National Park...Only some of the undercover footage was included in a new documentary called “Virunga”. Soco has said in a public statement that it “does not condone, partake in or tolerate corrupt or illegal activity whatsoever.”...The footage shows a Soco ally trying to bribe a senior park ranger to spy on the head of Virunga, local Soco agents handing out envelopes of cash to villagers to hold a demonstration, and a top Congolese parks official telling rangers they “will be paid money, money, money” if they collaborate with the company. Soco officials, meanwhile, labelled the head of the park, Emmanuel de Merode, as their major obstacle in secret recordings, and denigrated the park. [Also refers to Total].