Displaying items by tag: Legal

France: Eric Olsen, the former chief executive officer (CEO) of LafargeHolcim, has been placed under formal investigation as part of an inquiry into the company’s conduct in Syria, according to a source quoted by Reuters. He has also been placed under judicial supervision. Olsen had previously been questioned along with Bruno Lafont, the former CEO of Lafarge, and Christian Herraul, the former deputy managing director for operations.

Olsen was the head of human relations during the period the probe is covering. LafargeHolcim’s predecessor company Lafarge Syria allegedly paid terrorist groups in Syria to allow a cement plant to continue operating during the Syrian civil war. Olsen later became the CEO of LafargeHolcim when Lafarge merged with Holcim in 2015. However, he resigned in April 2017 following an internal review of the situation. At this time he said that his decision was motivated by his desire to draw a line under the affair. He added that he was ‘absolutely’ not involved in the case and had been unaware of any wrongdoing.

France: Bruno Lafont, the former chief executive officer (CEO) of Lafarge, has been questioned in an investigation into the company’s conduct in Syria. Lafont was interviewed, as well as the former human resources chief Eric Olsen and former deputy managing director for operations Christian Herrault, according to sources quoted by Agence France Presse.

The investigation is attempting to determine whether LafargeHolcim’s predecessor company Lafarge Syria paid terrorist groups in Syria and how much managers knew about the situation. Lafont was the CEO of Lafarge during the period the inquiry is examining. Olsen later became CEO of LafargeHolcim but resigned after the completion of an internal review into the affair in April 2017, despite not being found personally culpable or even aware of the situation.

India: The Ministry of Environment and Forest (MEF) is considering exempting cement plants and power companies from a ban on using petcoke and furnace oil for industrial use in Haryana, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh. Additional solicitor general A Nadkarni informed the Supreme Court that the use of petcoke in the cement industry was ‘minuscule,’ for non-fuel purposes and that it is used for de-sulphuring, according to the Hindustan Times. However, the exemption, if granted, will only be allowed for one year to allow cement companies to switch to alternative fuels.

The Central Pollution Control Board and the MEF issued the ban following a directive from the Supreme Court in late October 2017 prohibiting industries in the three neighbouring states of Delhi from using the polluting fuels. Use of petcoke and furnace oil is already banned in the capital region. The ban was imposed following high pollution levels in Delhi.

Nigeria: The head of the Ministry of Mines and Steel Development has publicly rebutted accusations by Abdulsamad Rabiu, the chief executive officer (CEO) of BUA Group, that the ministry and Dangote Cement have ‘sabotaged’ operations at the company. Rabiu made the allegations in a letter sent to President Muhammadu Buhari, according to the This Day newspaper.

Rabiu says that the rival cement company and the ministry colluded in a legal dispute about operations at Okpella in Edo State and mineral resources. Allegedly, a militia attempted to damage the cement plant before security forces intervened. Later government officials and police tried to stop work at a BUA Cement mine despite on-going legal action.

Mohammed Abass, the head of the Ministry of Mines and Steel Development, responded by describing Rabiu’s accusations as, “…an unwarranted campaign of calumny against the ministry.” He added that the cement company was attempting to blackmail the ministry into granting a ‘free pass’ for illegal operations. The ministry says that it issued a Stop Work Order for the disputed mine in 2015 but that BUA Group ignored it and has continued to work at the site whilst the legal case was pending. Later, the staff of BUA Group resisted an attempt to shut the site down in mid-November 2017.

Ireland: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has started legal action against Irish Cement’s for alleged breaches of its operating licence at its Limerick plant. A court summons is related to dust ‘blowouts’ from the plant, according to the Limerick Leader newspaper. The case is scheduled to come before the Limerick District Court in early March 2018. The EPA investigated dust emissions from the plant in April 2017.

France/Belgium: French police have searched the Paris offices of LafargeHolcim as part of an on-going investigation into the company’s conduct in Syria. At the same time the offices of Belgium’s Groupe Bruxelles Lambert (GBL) were also searched, according to the Agence France Presse (AFP). Both companies said they were cooperating with the investigations.

A source quoted by AFP said that the investigators are trying to find out if GBL had been aware of Lafarge Syria’s activities in Syria. GBL is a shareholder of LafargeHolcim that held a 9.4% stake at the end of 2016. The investigation as a whole is attempting to determine whether LafargeHolcim’s predecessor company Lafarge Syria paid terrorist groups in Syria and how much managers knew about the situation.

Italy: Appeals by Italian cement producers to the judiciary of Lazio against fines imposed by the Italian Competition Authority (AGCM) has been deferred to June 2018. Italcementi, Buzzi Unicem, Colacem, Cementir, Sacci, Holcim, Cementirossi, Barbetti, Cementeria di Monselice, Cementizillo, Calme, Moccia, TSC and the Italian Cement Association (AITEC) were penalised more than Euro184m in July 2017 for allegedly coordinating sales prices and agreeing market share from June 2011 to January 2016, according to the ANSA news agency. The majority of the fine was levied on Italcementi and Buzzi Unicem at around Euro84m and Euro60m respectively. Itacementi started appealing against the sanctions in August 2017.

Costa Rica: Tang Heng, the Chinese Ambassador to Costa Rica, has confirmed that Sinocem China has ended all commercial relations with Sinocem Costa Rica. The statement was made due to an investigation into alleged irregularities and lobbying involving the owner of Sinocem Costa Rica, Juan Carlos Bolanos, and certain officials of state-owned bank Banco de Costa Rica, according to La Nación newspaper. According to Heng, Hangzhou Sinocem Building Materials said in July 2017 that Sinocem China had stopped supplying cement to Sinocem Costa Rica as the latter allegedly purchased cement from other Chinese cement suppliers and continued to use the Sinocem brand on packaging without its permission.

Peru: UNACEM has filed a lawsuit alleging environmental violations against Cempor. Cempor, a joint venture between Chile’s Cementos Bío Bío and Brazil’s Votorantim, plans to build a cement plant in Lima, according to the La Tercera newspaper. The legal move is the latest action in a long running battle between the cement producers over the project. Cempor has responded by alleging to National Institute for the Defence of Free Competition and the Protection of Intellectual Property (INDECOPI) that UNACEM’s conduct is contrary to the functioning of a free market.

Cementos Bío Bío and Votorantim originally formed Cempor in 2010 with each company holding a 29.5% stake. The other owners include IPSA and the World Cement Group with a 20.5% stake each. At this time Cempor planned to build a 07Mt/yr cement plant near Lima.

Indonesia: Semen Indonesia Aceh has suspended construction of its Pidie cement plant in Aceh due to a land dispute. Local community leaders say they support the project but are calling for the disagreement to be resolved first to avoid problems later on, according to the Antara news agency. Locals are also waiting for environmental impact report requirements to be met. Previously, Semen Indonesia Aceh halted a plant construction project in Laweung until land issues were resolved.