Displaying items by tag: Legal

Panama: The government is set to look at new regulations for hexavalent chromium (chromium VI) in cement imports. Jorge Azcárraga, the general manager of Cemento Interoceánico said that the authorities are expected to set up a technical forum to discuss the issue, according to the Panamá América newspaper. The issue is being treated separately from newly introduced requirements and standards of cement because it is considered a health issue. It was previously reported that the government was set to introduce testing imports for chromium VI in March 2019.

Colombia: Cemex Latam Holdings has denied that it has an office dedicated to illegal activity following accusations of bribery in the local media. In a statement to the Superintendencia Financiera de Colombia, the company said that its Enterprise Risk Management office “supports the decision-making process by anticipating and coordinating risk management that could make it difficult for Cemex to reach its strategic objectives and identify short, medium and long-term opportunities.” It addd that risk management was an institutional process followed by companies around the world to anticipate and mitigate potential business hazards.

Cemex Colombia has been linked by Semana magazine and other outlets to payments to political figures in return for preferential treatment on construction contracts. The cement producer has also faced a long running investigation by local and US agencies into unusual payments relating to its Maceo cement plant project in Antioquia.

Taiwan: Asia Cement has appealed a ruling by the High Administrative Court in Taipei to revoke an extension of its mining rights at a quarry in Xincheng Township. Its right to operate the quarry was blocked in early July 2019 despite a 20-year extension granted in 2017, according to the Taipei Times newspaper. The cement producer also said it had received signatures from local residents will support continued mining at the site. The quarry supports an integrated plant at Huanlien.

Kenya: Pradeep Paunrana, the former chief executive officer (CEO) of ARM Cement, has challenged the sale of his former company’s assets in Kenya to National Cement. Lawyers acting on behalf of Paunrana, who remains a major shareholder, have filed a petition at the Kenyan High Court, according to the Business Daily newspaper.

ARM Cement was place in administration in mid-2018. Administrator PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) later decided to sell the cement producer’s assets in Kenya to National Cement for US$48m. However, a consortium of investors led by Paunrana offered US$63m for the assets but this bid was declined due to a lack of proof of funds and its late submission.

Taiwan: The Taipei High Administrative Court has repealed Asia Cement’s right to operate a cement quarry located in the Taroko National Park. This decision upheld an appeal from Taroko residents and overrules a Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) decision to grant a 20-year extension of mining rights, according to the Taiwan News newspaper. Asia Cement’s previous mining concession expired in late 2017 and the Bureau of Mines, MOEA originally extended it until 2037.

Myanmar: Four local activists have been sentenced to 14 months hard labour for protesting in May 2018 against a new cement plant being built at Patheingyi Township in Mandalay Region. The residents of Aungthabyae, Patheingyi were charged and convicted of Roads and Bridges Law offenses for blocking a road to prevent access by vehicles, according to Radio Free Asia. The activists allege that they were not allowed to testify in court describing the process as ‘totally unfair.’

Around 20 people were injured in 2018 when police fired rubber bullets and tear gas into a crowd protesting against the construction of the Alpha Cement Plant, a joint venture between China’s Anhui Conch and a local company. During the protest, activists blocked factory vehicles and demanded compensation for land they claim they lost when a road was built to support the plant. Police said that over US$40,000 worth of damage was caused at the site. The cement plant is scheduled to be commissioned in 2021.

Costa Rica: Cemex has taken legal action to query a local 5% tax on the sale of cement in the provinces of Cartago, San José and Guanacaste. The issue is commercially relevant because its competitor Cementos Fortaleza operates a grinding plant at Salinas Esparza in Puntarenas where the tax is not liable, according to Diario Extra magazine. Cementos Fortaleza opened its unit in 2018. Cemex operates an integrated and a grinding plant in the country.

Russia: Vostokcement Group has warned both federal and regional government that its on-going legal troubles will delay infrastructure projects in the Far East district, including the Zvezda shipyard, Vostochny Port coal terminal, Sila Sibiri gas pipe and a bridge over the River Amur. It said it also might be unable to pay up to 5000 workers. The cement producer previously said that office of the Prosecutor General of Russia had seized the financial accounts at Spasskcement, Teploozersk Cement and other subsidiaries in relation to a civil legal case where the defendants are trying to recover Euro44.5m.

Colombia: Cemex Colombia has been accused by the news division of Caracol Televisión of allegedly making payments to the Juan Manuel Santos presidential campaign in 2014 in return for preferential treatment on construction contracts. Santos subsequently won the 2014 presidential election and served until 2018.

Sources, quoted by Noticias Caracol from a US police investigation into the company, say that it paid US$1m in cash and contributed cement to local candidates. They say that the local candidates then sold the donated cement at a discount for additional campaign funds. The Office of the Attorney General of Colombia is also investigating the matter. The report by Noticias Caracol follows an expose by Semana magazine.

France/Syria: The Court of Appeal in Paris will decide on 24 October 2019 whether charges of financing terrorism and crimes against humanity will be upheld. Lafarge and its former executives Bruno Lafont, former chief executive officer (CEO) of Lafarge, former safety director Jean-Claude Veillard, and one of the former directors of its Syrian subsidiary, Frédéric Jolibois have challenged the indictments, according to the Agence France-Presse. The legal case is investigating Lafarge’s conduct in Syria between 2011 and 2014. It has been accused of financing terrorism through indirect payments to extremist groups to keep its Jalabiya cement plant operational after the outbreak of war in Syria.