Displaying items by tag: Legal
Holcim implicated in Cuban cement plant investment
04 June 2014US/Cuba: A lawsuit in Spain has revealed documents indicating that Holcim may have invested in a cement plant in Cuba despite warnings the deal might violate US law because the plant sits on land seized from US citizens. The deal took place in 2000, when Holcim was known as Holderbank, but allegedly the ownership went through a string of companies in Spain, the Netherlands and Panama, according to documents filed in a lawsuit reported upon by the Miami Herald.
"Holderbank's investment in the Cienfuegos property clearly would constitute 'trafficking' in confiscated property under Title IV of Helms-Burton," wrote US lawyers hired to advise Holcim. Holcim denies that it owns a business or a stake in a business in Cuba.
The court documents are part of a lawsuit involving three Spanish firms. Firebrick SA and Acedos Trading allege that Inversiones Ibersuizas owes them more than US$2m from an investment in Cuba in 2000. The documents suggest that Ibersuizas created a Spanish firm, Las Pailas de Cemento, in 2000 that paid US$70m to Cuba for 50% of the joint venture, Cementos Cienfuegos plant. Holcim allegedly controlled the project through a Panama company, Windward Overseas. The deal subsequently began to break down in 2004.
Since 2004, the US Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control, which enforces the US embargo on Cuba, has fined foreign companies more than US$1.25bn for violating US laws and regulations.
Uganda: The High Court in Kampala has ordered the Minister of State for Gender and Cultural Affairs Rukia Nakadama Isanga to pay US$52,000 to Hima Cement for construction materials she bought from the company.
According to court documents, Hima supplied cement worth US$31,000 to Nakadama and her husband, Dauda Isanga, between 2003 and 2005. The couple later issued cheques worth US$31,000 to the company but these cheques were rejected by the bank due to insufficient funds. Justice David Wangutusi also ordered Nakadama and Isanga to pay US$19,500 in interest to Hima Cement accrued since 2009. The judge also ordered the couple to pay 8% interest per annum on both amounts from the date of judgement until the payment is completed.
Egyptian court accepts appeal by Assiut Cement
22 January 2014Egypt: An Egyptian court has accepted an appeal by Assiut Cement to prevent the overrule of its privatisation in 1999. The case regarding the Cemex subsidiary has now been referred to an administrative court.
Two former Assiut employees, who were among workers to take an early-retirement package following the privatisation, brought a lawsuit against Assiut and certain Egyptian government representatives in 2011, seeking to annul the privatisation. The civil court ruled to annul the sale in 2012, but Assiut appealed. The civil appeals court accepted the appeal, overruled the first instance court and has referred the case to an administrative court, said Maher Al-Haffar, Cemex's vice president of corporate communications and investor relations.
"The process will start from the beginning, and the new court will have to hear the merits of the case," Al-Haffar said. Meanwhile, Egyptian cement operations are continuing and will continue normally, he added.
Mexico-based Cemex purchased a controlling stake in Assiut Cement in 1999 from Egypt's state-owned Metallurgical Industries Holding. It has since increased its cement production capacity to 5.4Mt/yr from 3.7Mt/yr and added ready-mix concrete, aggregates and housing developments to its cement operations. Assiut had sales of US$471m in 2012, equivalent to about 3.1% of Cemex's US$15bn in global sales.
EPA and industry fail to settle waste unit risk policy fight
22 January 2014US: The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and industry groups including cement producers have failed to settle a permit dispute that is testing whether the agency has the authority to require operators of hazardous waste combustion units to conduct risk assessments that can be used to strengthen emissions limits for mercury and other pollutants when renewing the facilities' existing waste and air permits. Negotiations stalled during a meeting in November 2013 between EPA lawyers and cement kiln operators at EPA's Region V offices, according to an 8 January 2014 status report the parties filed with the Environmental Appeals Board (EAB). Litigation will continue on 20 February 2014.
The case began on 8 July 2013 when ESSROC Cement petitioned the EAB to review Region V's decision requiring a site-specific risk assessments (SSRA) at ESSROC's hazardous waste combustor facility in Logansport, Indiana, during the 2012 renewal of the facility's RCRA permit. After the facility conducted the SSRA, Region V imposed a restrictive annual mercury feed rate limit, which ESSROC said, "goes far beyond what is necessary to protect human health and the environment."
The case marks a new test for the risk assessment requirements EPA attached to its 2005 regulations governing hazardous waste combustion facilities that emit air pollutants, including cement kilns. The 2005 regulations set strict new maximum achievable control technology (MACT) standards under the Clean Air Act (CAA) for the combustion facilities that burn the hazardous waste. The rule also integrated the MACT standards with Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) requirements so that facilities must comply with the MACT standards to be eligible for RCRA permits.
EAPCC adjusts financial reports following US$2m cement theft
08 January 2014Kenya: The East African Portland Cement Company (EAPCC) has adjusted its previous financial reports following the discovery of a theft of cement worth US$2m. The fraud led to the under-declaration of its overdraft by US$1.4m for cement lost in 2012, with the firm also overstating its sales and VAT payments by the same amount.
"The company lost cement worth US$1.4m and US$0.66m during the years ending 30 June 2012 and 30 June 2013 respectively through fraud, which was discovered in 2013," the EAPCC said in its latest annual report.
"The financial statements have been restated to correct these misstatements."
The Treasury and the National Social Security Fund (NSSF), which have a combined stake of 52% in the EAPCC, have questioned the accuracy of the EAPCC's accounts, which are examined by the National Audit Office and its agent Ernst & Young. The EAPCC management has disputed this claim.
In 2013, EAPCC suspended seven of its employees who were charged with allegedly stealing cement worth US$2m.
Tong Yang Cement files for court receivership
02 October 2013South Korea: Tong Yang Cement, a subsidiary of Tong Yang Group, has filed for court receivership. The receivership with the Chuncheon District Court was lodged in an official note, as reported by the Korean Broadcasting System. Sister-companies Tongyang Incorporated, Tongyang International, Tongyang Leisure and Tongyang Networks have also filed for court receivership in recent days.
Tongyang Group will have to repay debts of more than US$1bn.
Public litigation threatens Jaypee sale
20 September 2013India: The Indian high court in Gujarat has ordered that a US$600m deal to sell the Kutch cement plant from Jaypee Cement to UltraTech Cement will be subject of outcome of a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by local villagers.
According to the Times of India, the Kharai panchayat has filed a PIL complaining that the cement company has encroached upon grazing land, water bodies and public roads. The PIL demands that the encroachment should be removed and that the high court should intervene to make the area free from pollution caused by mining and the dumping of dust.
Counsel Mehul Sharad Shah contended that over 5000 hectares of land was given at a cheap rate to Gujarat Anjan Cement to create a cement plant for a lease period of 1997 to 2008 on the condition that the company would put up construction within two years. After not following the condition, it transferred the lease for US$120m to Jayprakash Associates, which merged with the J P Corporation. The PIL alleges that the company encroached on gauchar land, water bodies, public roads and began polluting by dumping alkali dust. Cuts in jobs for local labourers has also added to tension in the area.
The high court has said that the transfer of lease will be subject to final outcome of the PIL.
Israel allows cement into Gaza
18 September 2013Gaza/Israel: Israel has allowed a limited quantity of cement and other building materials into the Gaza Strip for the first time since 2007. Nazmi Muhanna, an official in the Palestinian Authority in charge of border checkpoints, said that efforts made by President Mahmoud Abbas to convince Israel to allow entry of construction material into Gaza for private sector usage had succeeded. Israel has promised to increase the quantity gradually.
"I welcome the decision which reflects our ongoing discussions with the Israelis," commented Quartet representative Tony Blair in a statement. "This is an important step in building a more positive environment for the diplomatic negotiations and in preparing the ground for the more comprehensive and transformative economic initiative, which we have been working on for the past few months."
Indian police charge three cement producers with corruption
11 September 2013India: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has filed separate chargesheets against Penna Cement, Raghuram Cements and India Cements for favours they allegedly received from the Andhra Pradesh state government in 2008 and 2009. According to newspaper The Hindu, YS Jaganmohan Reddy has been accused of influencing his father, deceased chief minister of Andhra Pradesh YS Rajasekhara Reddy, to grant government benefits to firms that invested in his own companies.
The CBI allege that Penna Group had invested US$7m in Jagati Publications and US$3.5m in Carmel Asia, both belonging to YSJ Reddy. In return, Penna Cements was allocated mining leases in Anantapur and Kurnool districts and the transfer of limestone mines originally allotted to Walchand Cements. Similar deals with Raghuram Cements (now Bharati Cements) and India Cements are noted in the CBI's charges.
Australia Cement broke competition law with fly ash contract
10 September 2013Australia: Australia Cement has been found in breach of Australian competition for a fly ash contract that lessened competition. As reported by The Australian newspaper, Justice Andrew Greenwood of the Federal Court in Brisbane made the verdict in a case against the cement producer by the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission (ACCC).
The ACCC had alleged that Cement Australia had breached the abuse of market power provision though a fly ash contract with Millmerran Power Partners. While finding no breach of section 46 of the Act, Justice Greenwood said Cement Australia had breached section 45 through a contract to buy the fly ash from the power station.
Only interim declarations were publicly released to give the parties the chance to go through the about 500-page judgment in case of any confidentiality issues. Justice Greenwood reserved his decision on costs and no decision was made on any penalties.