Posted by The Happy Tutor
Fruit giant Chiquita agreed in March to pay $25 million to settle with the U.S. Department of Justice after acknowledging that its Colombian subsidiary, Banadex, secretly funneled $1.7 million to the death squads operating in zones where it had banana plantations.
The company had no qualms it declaring that it will now pay a fine of $25 million, payable in five annual installments. Actually, it’s even possible that Chiquita suggested its own fine, as "the company recorded a reserve in 2006 for the full amount of the fine in anticipation of reaching an agreement." This possibility is expanded by the fact that Chiquita carried out the payments for a time with the full knowledge of the Justice Department to which it will now pay its fine. "According to U.S. court documents, Chiquita told the Justice Department in April 2003 that it was funding the paramilitaries, and then kept paying them for another 10 months with the department's knowledge."
At least in America things are different. Here no one, with one exception, and those who work for him, are above the law. Tyranny, secrecy, and ruthlessness are the best defense against Terror.
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