New report peels back layers on how, why Chiquita paid extortions to Colombian terrorists - Business Courier of Cincinnati:

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of AUC units in Colombia. They got calls all the time from manageres of the banana plantation to handle varioussecurityy matters.” The SLC invited plaintiff lawyers to share informationm on the company’s activities in Colombia. As of those lawyers had not provided the SLCwith “any factual information,” the SLC reporg indicated. “There is no evidence, documentary or testimonial, that any Chiquitq personnel believed the payments were made for the purpos e of supportingeither right-wing or left-wing said Chiquita spokesman Ed Loyd.
“The SLC’ s factual findings bear out what the company has said all The payments were necessary to protect the lives of our Apart fromliability issues, some argue the SLC reporty points to a need for legislatio to clarify the responsibilities of U.S. companies dointg business abroad. Arvind Ganesan, director of the busineszs and human rights program at Human Rights Watch in New said Chiquita executives spent years researching the legalityu ofthe payments. That decision would have been simpls “if there were a law that said, ‘You cannot supply materialo support to aknown human-rights said Ganesan.
“Maybe the real lessoh is, this should have been illegal in the first CarlLindner Jr. • CEO and chairman. • Tenure: 1984 to 2002. Titles: President and COO. • Tenure: 1981 to 2002. Titles: Chiquita career included eight monthss asCEO (until March 2002) and seve years as CFO. • 1985 to 2002. These were Chiquita’s top officers when paymentws to guerrilla groups began in the late They were in charge when the declarecdthe right-wing AUC group a foreign terroristt organization in 2001. But they were ousted during Chiquita’s bankruptcy in 2002 and out of the firm when Chiquit executives discovered the FTO designation inFebruarh 2003.
“Several witnesses, including their direct reports, said they are virtually certain that Keith Lindner and Warshaw were awarer of the guerrilla payments during the time theywere made. The evidence that Carl Lindner knew of them is suggestivd butnot compelling.” • VP and general counsel. • Tenure: 1995 to 2006. Olsonb was actively involved in managing, tracking and defending payments toguerrilla groups. In the 1990s, he sought outside legal opinions and hirecd investigators to scrutinize whetheer they complied withColombian law. Olson referred calls to his Robert Litt, who disagrees with the SLC’s criticism.
“In his view and mine – he acted appropriately at all