Chiquita Brands International to pay $25M for terrorist bribes
Chiquita Brands International, Inc. (NYSE: CQB) shares are down on news that a federal judge approved a plea bargain where the banana distributor will pay a $25 million fine for payments it made to a Colombian terrorist group. Cincinnati-based Chiquita made the first of five $5 million payments today.
The fine is the largest ever imposed under counterterrorism laws and was part of a plea deal reached with government prosecutors in March. The company says it was forced to make the payments in order to protect its workers. Under the bargain, no Chiquita executives accused of facilitating the bribe will be prosecuted.
In March, Chiquita pleaded guilty to paying $1.7 million to the United Self Defense Forces of Columbia (AUC), an umbrella group designated by the State Department as a foreign terrorist organization. The paramilitary coalition was formed to protect the interests of wealthy Colombians from Communist guerilla movements. According to the Colombian National Police, AUC carried out 804 assassinations in 2000.
Chiquita made over 100 payments to AUC, ending in 2004. The payments became illegal after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, when the State Department declared the organization a terrorist group.
In June 2004, Chiquita sold its Colombian subsidiary Banadex to Invesmar Ltd., the holding company of C.I. Banacol S.A., for $28.5 million in cash. A month earlier, Chiquita had publicly announced it told the United States Justice Department of payments by Banadex to terrorist groups in Colombia.
“This agreement is in the best interests of the company and reflects a responsible resolution to a difficult dilemma faced by the company several years ago,” CEO Fernando Aguirre said in a statement released on September 11, when the company announced its plea bargain offer. “Chiquita looks forward to putting this difficult chapter behind it, and remains committed to the highest standards of corporate responsibility, ethical conduct and legal compliance, in the United States and around the world.”
In today’s trading, CQB shares were down 1.43%, or $0.22, at $15.13. Over the last 52 weeks, shares have ranged from $12.48 to $19.92.
