Paris, 10 November 2022 – A few days before the 2022 World Cup kick-off, French construction giant Vinci Construction Grands Projets has been indicted, in relation to its construction sites in Qatar, for forced labour, reduction to servitude, working and housing conditions incompatible with human dignity, and the obtention of services in exchange for remuneration that is clearly unrelated to the importance of the work performed. NGO Sherpa as well as the other complainants welcome this strong signal sent to multinationals.

Seven years after the first complaint filed by Sherpa against Vinci, and after more than three years of investigation, the judge has indicted Vinci Construction Grands Projets for forced labour, reduction to servitude, working and housing conditions incompatible with human dignity, and the obtention of services in exchange for remuneration that is clearly unrelated to the importance of the work performed, considering that there was “serious or corroborating indication” that Vinci committed or participated in the offences until 2014. 

Sherpa went to Qatar in 2014 and collected testimonies on the working conditions at that time (lack of air conditioning, stifling/exhausting heat, withholding of passports, debt bondage, etc.) and in dire housing conditions (lack of sanitation and hygiene facilities, etc.). These testimonies led to a complaint against Vinci. Sherpa was then joined by twelve former construction workers, as well as by the NGO “Comité contre l’Esclavage Moderne” (CCEM).

For Sandra Cossart, Sherpa’s Executive Director: “Companies are not above the law. This indictment is a strong signal against the impunity of multinationals, it shows that the use of forced labour in their value chains can lead to prosecution.”

As for the next steps, this indictment allows Vinci to access the file and present its defence. The NGOs hope that the multinational will not abuse the judicial process by deploying delaying tactics.

For more information: presse@asso-sherpa.org

2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar: new complaint against Vinci

Sherpa, the Comité contre l’Esclavage Moderne (CCEM) and six former Indian and Nepalese workers file today a new complaint against Vinci, Vinci Construction Grands Projets (VCGP), its Qatar subsidiary, Qatari Diar Vinci Construction (QDVC), and their executives and managers for forced labor and bonded labor, human trafficking, work incompatible with human dignity, failure to provide first aid assistance, deliberate endangerment of people’s lives as well as for concealing profits from these offences. It’s the first time that former Vinci’s employees from Qatar sites file a complaint against the French transnational company.

This new complaint follows an on-site investigation led by Sherpa in India in September 2018, which allowed gathering new elements and testimonies confirming Sherpa’s first investigation of 2014 in Qatar.

The previous investigation in 2014 led to the filing of a first complaint and shed a light on the working conditions of migrant workers employed by Vinci and its subcontractors on its construction sites for the Qatar 2022 FIFA World Cup. Vinci’s employees would work, with their passport confiscated, between 66 and 77 hours per week, packed in confined rooms with restricted communal accommodation, earning a salary by no means equivalent to the work provided and threatened with dismissal in case of claims regarding working conditions, in violation of Qatari law, French criminal law and international standards edicted by the International Labor Organization (ILO).

The minimum wage for migrant workers is less than 2% of the average Qatari wage. The plaintiffs and witnesses were paid between 50 cents and 2 euros per hour worked.

“I signed a contract in a language that I did not understand. And when I arrived to the camp, they took my passport. I knew that I didn’t have any choice” [1] states one of the plaintiffs.

The lack of equipment necessary to protect workers from safety risks and heat (between 104°F and 122°F) would have resulted in an abnormally high number of workers’ death on construction sites.[2]

“In Qatar, working outside during the warm season is a real risk. Because of the heat and humidity, I have seen people vomiting and falling.”[3]

The first complaint filed by Sherpa on March 24, 2015 was dismissed on January 31, 2018 after the prosecutor decided to close the case[4].

The preliminary investigation launched by the prosecutor in 2015 was the first initiated against a transnational company on those legal grounds. However, it was limited to a hearing of a few Vinci’s executives and the prosecutor even refused to carry out the classic investigative acts such as searches on the premises.

As Marie Laure Guislain, head of strategic litigation at Sherpa points out:

“The weakness of the preliminary investigation reveals the lack of political will of the public prosecutor’s office. In case of severe international offenses, France should suppress the monopoly of the public prosecutor to decide to investigate or not. An in-depth investigation has to be carried out now”.

The Qatari authorities should not refuse to cooperate with the French authorities considering the context of the highly scrutinized 2022 FIFA World Cup.

The working conditions of many workers have been positively impacted following the first legal proceedings of 2015 and the parallel ILO investigation. Sherpa welcomes those improvements. However, those impacts should not erase Vinci’s responsibility for the offenses committed.

Notes

[1]    Extract from a worker’s testimony

[2] See HRW’s report (2017) accessible on : https://www.hrw.org/news/2017/09/27/qatar-take-urgent-action-protect-construction-workers et the Guardian’s investigation accessible on: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/sep/25/revealed-qatars-world-cup-slaves

[3]    Extract from a worker’s testimony

[4]    Sherpa then filed a complaint with a claim for criminal indemnification on September 25, 2018 with one of the anonymous witness of the 2015’s complaint. According to the French criminal procedure, once the prosecutor decided to close the case, the victim can bring a lawsuit with a civil claim for damages within criminal proceedings directly in front of an investigating judge. This lawsuit can only be filed by the same parties. This is why Sherpa, the CEEM and the 6 news plaintiffs are filing a new lawsuit today.

For more information: presse@asso-sherpa.org

Paris, February 6, 2018 – On March 23, 2015, Sherpa filed a complaint for forced labor and servitude on construction sites in Qatar, notably for the World Cup, against Vinci Construction Grands Projets and the French directors of its subsidiary, Qatari QDVC. A preliminary investigation was launched in April 2015 by the Nanterre public prosecutor.

On January 31, 2018, the Public Prosecutor decided to close the preliminary investigation.

“This decision is not a surprise. We will continue our work to bring light on the workers’ situation in Qatar. We will take action and file a complaint with a claim for criminal indemnification so the case can be referred to an investigating judge”

Sandra Cossart, Sherpa’s director.

For more information: presse@asso-sherpa.org

Paris, 4 July 2017

On 28 June 2017, the Paris Cour of Appeal rejected VINCI’s suit alleging that Sherpa had violated its presumption of innocence, which had been brought according to Article 9-1 of the Civil Code, following Sherpa’s complaint filed in March 2015 and which alleged that VINCI CONSTRUCTION GRANDS PROJETS and the French executives of its Qatari subsidiary were guilty of forced labour, reduction to servitude and concealment. These facts were allegedly committed against migrants employed on construction sites entrusted to these companies by the Qatar government for the preparation of the 2022 World cup.

 

The suit brought by the VINCI companies was based on statements made by William Bourdon, President of the NGO, and Laetitia Liebert, its Director, during an interview given to French newspaper Libération in April 2015.

 

After finding that this interview was given in reply to the public defamation of a private person suit brought by VINCI on 13 April 2015, notably because of the press release published on Sherpa’s website, the Court held that the litigious statements aimed to show that the criminal suit was well founded and to highlight the elements that Sherpa had in its possession.

 

Sherpa was therefore entitled to defend itself and express its point of view, in reaction to the defamation suit brought against it by VINCI and to the major damages claimed.

 

‘VINCI has once against failed to convince the judges of its victim status, as they reject for the third time its attempts to silence Sherpa’, notes Léa FORESTIER, Sherpa’s lawyer. ‘In addition to the defamation suit the VINCI companies would like to use presumption of innocence to silence its opponents. The judges held that Sherpa has a right to refend itself. It is in fact its duty!

We are now waiting for justice to be able to focus on the heart of the case: the way in which VINCI treated its construction workers on the Qatari sites.’

 

 

Press contact

Marie-Laure Guislain, head of litigation at Sherpa: +33 (0)1 42 21 33 25, marie-laure.guislain@asso-sherpa.org

Paris, 10 May 2016 – A complaint filed last week is requesting an investigation into alleged corruption involving French company Vinci in the construction of a controversial motorway through Khimki Forest near Moscow. The complaint was filed to Nanterre’s chief investigating judge by civil society groups Sherpa and CEE Bankwatch Network, activists Evgenia Tchirikova and Mikhail Matveev, and with the support of Princip, defenders of the Khimki forest.

In 2007 the Russian Federal Roads Agency, ROSAVTODOR, launched a call for tenders for the construction of a section of the M11 motorway. Three companies submitted tenders, including the North West Concession Company (NWCC), owned by the Vinci Group and Russian partners including Vladimir Putin’s close associate Arkady Rotenberg. After studying the submissions, the Russian state decided to declare the call for tenders unsuccessful and rejected all three tenders. In 2009, Russian authorities awarded the section’s construction directly to NWCC for 1.63 billion Euros.

Yet several studies have shown that the route that was chosen, compared with twelve others, is the most expensive one, and the one that would have the worst environmental impact. The project’s usefulness is therefore being questioned, as it does not meet the social and environmental challenges of the Russian transportation sector.

This is the first wide-ranging case which could lead to holding a major French company liable for corruption in Russia.

Sherpa has already filed an initial complaint against VINCI CONCESSIONS RUSSIE SA on 24 June 2013 for alleged corruption of foreign public officials in the case of the tender for the construction of the section of motorway M11 through the Khimki Forest..

The appointment of an investigating judge will make it possible to carry out all actions necessary to establish the truth and identify who should be held responsible.

At a time when France has enhanced its legal framework for the fight against corruption, and French companies are making more commitments, the French judicial system must be able to establish who is liable for actions allegedly committed by a French company in a country which is known to be plagued with corruption.

Press release from: 
Sherpa and CEE Bankwatch Network

For more information: presse@asso-sherpa.org

Paris, April 27, 2015 —On March 23, 2015, Sherpa filed a complaint for forced labor and servitude against Vinci Construction Grands Projets and the French directors of its subsidiary, Qatarie QDVC, based on information gathered in Qatar. The launch of the preliminary investigation by the Nanterre public prosecutor was announced on Saturday by the press. We welcome this crucial first step and hope that this investigation will pave the way for a phase of proceedings.

This Saturday, April 25, Le Parisian announced the launch of a preliminary investigation by Catherine Denis, Nanterre’s public prosecutor, following our filing of a complaint against Vinci Construction Grands Projets. We welcome this important first step towards access to justice for workers from their construction sites in Qatar.

We hope that this investigation will shed a light on the facts that we reported in our complaint. In any event, Nanterre’s public prosecutor deemed that this information was enough to support the launch of an investigation, which should encourage Vinci Construction Grands Projets to take all necessary measures to respect the rights of migrants on their constructions sites, and to retract its defamation complaint against Sherpa and the members of it’s team.

We hope that the prosecutor’s office takes all actions necessary to put in place a thorough investigation that will allow the French judicial system to respect human rights, by multinational corporations such as Vinci, in their activities abroad.

For more information : presse@asso-sherpa.org

Paris, Thursday, 16 April 2015 – in response to the proceedings we instituted against Vinci Construction Grands Projects and its Qatari subsidiary on 23rd March for forced labour and bonded labour, Vinci is bringing an action for defamation against the Sherpa Organisation, and also personally against certain Sherpa employees. By involving us in these costly proceedings, Vinci is plainly seeking to pressure us into withdrawing our action for lack of resources. Despite the sizeable scale of the sums claimed, we are satisfied nevertheless at the renewed focus of public debate on the human rights violations committed by French multinationals abroad.

On 14 April, Vinci issued a summons against Sherpa as represented by its President, William Bourdon, while also targeting individuals: its Director Laetitia Liebert, and the legal expert, Marie-Laure Guislain, in charge of filing proceedings against Vinci Construction on Friday 26 June at the Paris Regional Court. Sherpa Organisation faces liability to pay 405 000 euros, while Laetitia Liebert and Marie-Laure Guislain are being sued jointly for 203 000 euros, to include the statutory fine, the damages and the requirement to publish the court ruling, all pressed-for by Vinci.

Multinationals frequently resort to costly proceedings of this kind to discourage claimants with less assured finances. We were expecting such a reaction, termed a SLAPP (Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation, described in French as a “poursuite bâillon” – a gagging lawsuit).

This commonly-used retaliatory device is designed to impede by the threat of proceedings an individual’s or an organisation’s denunciation of misdoings; the success of such a manoeuvre resides not so much in winning a court action as from the process itself, which seeks to intimidate the defendant or exhaust its resources and so reduce it to silence.

We are confident, because we have evidence to substantiate what we advance, and we must not be cowed into shying away from our mission of safeguarding human rights and defending victims of economic crime, regardless of the countries in which multinationals operate.

We welcome this fresh opportunity that Vinci’s legal action provides for us to throw open to public debate the upholding of the fundamental rights of construction-site workers in Qatar. Our action has already borne fruit, since Vinci’s spokespeople have been forced to a reply regarding its practices, and, above all, have reported improvements in working conditions, both since the investigation and to come, at Vinci’s Qatar construction sites. We hope that these declarations will be borne out by tangible and appreciable improvements in living and working conditions at those sites.

For more information: presse@asso-sherpa.org

Paris, April 2, 2015—On March 23^rd, Sherpa filed a complaint against Vinci Construction for forced labor, servitude and concealment with regards to its sites in Qatar that include building projects for the World Cup 2022. Vinci denied our claims and alleges that it provides its migrant workers decent working conditions without specifying any of them… The multinational declared it plans to file a suit against Sherpa for defamation, yet our evidence is there, and we will not give into intimidation attempts.

 Following our complaint filed on March 23^rd, the multinational Vinci threatened to file a countersuit alleging defamation. This common response called SLAPP (“strategic lawsuit against public participation” or “pursuit gag”) aims to hinder the denunciation of facts through the threat of prosecution; its success is not so much attributable to victories in the courtroom as it is to the process of financially exhausting and intimidating defendants into silence. However, we have the necessary legal tools to defend ourselves and we will not cave in easily to pressure. Since filing our complaint, many employees of Vinci’s subcontractors who complained about Vinci’s practices have reached out to us expressing their support. One of these employees reported that s/he was also threatened with a defamation suit.

Vinci claims to have stopped confiscating passports from January 2015 and that it improved its employees’ working conditions. Thus, the multinational has not only admitted that confiscating passports is a serious matter, but that it also committed the act for years, in violation of Qatari law and international standards. Vinci boasts that it improved the housing conditions of 2000 workers in January 2015. But the question remains: what about the the rest of the 3, 200 employees Vinci declared? The question also remains: what the subcontractors Vinci claims to have control over, which according to Qatari law and ethical commitments, must provide the same working and accommodation conditions that direct employees are provided?

Vinci asserts that 70% of its employees renew their contracts after the initial one expires. Yet their statement solely concerns 70% of their direct employees, and therefore does not take into account all of the subcontractors who represent the majority of the workforce. Furthermore, the Bangladeshis we met told us that they became hostages because, if they lost a day of work, they were unable to feed their families.

Modern slavery does not consist of shackling and whipping workers. It is subtler: the penal code defines a vulnerable population, under the threat of an employer and extreme economical dependency, as having no choice but to accept the deplorable working conditions and therefore renew its contract.

We will nonetheless be satisfied if this complaint—which for now solely concerns Vinci—and our past voiced concerns end by improving the overall fate of migrants working on Vinci’s sites. We would also like to note that our complaint relates to all other facts denounced before 2015, as well as to all of the violations that most workers continue to experience, and we encourage Vinci to continue its efforts to stop all violations of fundamental rights.

Furthermore, on March 30^th, a historic bill regarding corporate accountability passed the National Assembly. This is a first victory, but it is not enough to prevent further violations of human rights. The law will apply to just 125 companies and it will not enable victims’ access to justice since victims will still need to prove that a company committed a breach, and that a connection between the parent company and subsidiary exists (the causal link between the breach and the harm) which is extremely difficult—if not impossible—to establish. Additionally, the bill calls for the issuance of a decree which could indefinitely delay the law’s implementation. The battle is far from over; the bill must be put as soon as possible on the Senate agenda to be discussed and strengthened so that it can prevent tragedies like Qatar and Rana Plaza from taking place.

 

Paris, 24^th March 2015 – Sherpa files a complaint against Vinci Construction Grands Projects (VCGP) and the French managers of its Qatari branch (QDVC) over violations concerning forced labour, servitude and receiving stolen goods in connection with migrants employed on their building sites in Qatar. Investigations carried out on site conclude that these companies are employing various threats to compel a vulnerable population to live and work in undignified conditions for a derisory remuneration.

The violation of the fundamental rights of migrant workers building facilities for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar – the richest country in the world – have been denounced in numerous reports by different organisations. The French group VINCI, represented by its QDVC branch, has won contracts worth several millions of euros in connection with the event and employs thousands of workers onsite both directly and via numerous subcontractors incorporated in Qatar.  

After several months of investigation and having encountered numerous obstacles, Sherpa’s advocates and lawyers, supported and invited by the National Federation of Construction, Wood and Furnishings Workers CGT (FNSCBA CGT) to a delegation organised in Doha by the Building and Woodworkers International, have managed to pull together overwhelming evidence of the working conditions at QDVC’s building sites, allowing the organisation to file a complaint on 23^rd March 2015.

Marie-Laure Guislain, Sherpa’s head of litigation for the Globalisation and Human Rights programme, underlines these difficulties: “The enormous pressure put on employees made our task very difficult; the migrants are terrorised by the threat of reprisals that they could suffer. Nevertheless, we have been able to collect conclusive evidence on the spot of undignified working and living conditions and remuneration that bears no relation to the work performed, which is carried under duress and threats.”

Indeed, the evidence testifies to inhuman and dangerous working conditions violating international and even local law, which explains the frequent accidents and deaths on the building sites. Worse still, passports are confiscated by the company and workers are threatened if they claim their right to better working and living conditions or if they want to resign or change employer.  They are also compelled to accept undignified working conditions that bear no relation to the remuneration they receive. These conditions are far from those boasted by VCGP in its communications and code of ethics and far from the standards imposed by Qatari and international documents.

This new social drama highlights, as did Rana Plaza, the urgent need to adopt a law on the duty of vigilance by multinationals concerning infringements of human rights by their branches or subcontractors in the context of their overseas activities. Indeed, if the legal grounds employed in these charges must allow questioning of the parent company in this case, they concern only violations relating to forced labour and therefore only a tiny proportion of the harm caused to workers or communities that are victims of economic crimes. Furthermore, it is not possible to prevent such a disaster by legal action: the aim of a general law on the duty of vigilance is to prevent harm before it occurs and it is too late.

A text aimed precisely at preventing the most serious and frequently inflicted harm in the spheres of health, environment and fundamental liberties will be voted on in the National Assembly on 30^th March. While the efforts of the members of parliament promoting this bill are to be welcomed, pressure from employers’ organisations must not be allowed to water it down to an improved reporting obligation affecting only a small number of companies.  If the government is to honour its promises and international commitments while achieving its goal of enhancing the accountability of multinationals to avoid deaths in Qatar, as in Bangladesh, it is imperative that the text be amended during the vote.

Laetitia Liebert, Director of Sherpa, hopes “that this action will force Vinci to scrupulously respect the rights of migrant workers in the years to come and will be an example for the building and civil engineering sector as a whole. The work will continue and even intensify as the World Cup approaches. Yet the various questions raised by the trade unions or human rights organisations seem insufficient to achieve change. It is therefore crucial to prevent future violations of the fundamental rights of workers through this legal action.”

For more information : presse@asso-sherpa.org

A year ago, Sherpa celebrated its 20th anniversary. Year by year, our determination remains intact. Thanks to the support and commitment of our donors and members, we are able to act against the impunity of economic actors every day!

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Overview of the progress and successes of 2022!

Armed conflicts and international crimes: multinational companies under scrutiny

A world first: following a legal action initiated by Sherpa and ECCHR alongside 11 former Syrian employees, French Supreme Court confirmed the indictment of multinational Lafarge for complicity in crimes against humanity. A victory for our associations, which also filed a complaint this year alongside Mwatana for Human Rights against the arms companies Dassault Aviation, Thalès Groupe and MBDA France for their possible complicity in alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity in Yemen. Supported by Amnesty International France, the legal action should lift the veil on their arms exports to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

Workers’ rights: multinationals face French justice 

Forced labour, reduction to servitude, working and housing conditions incompatible with human dignity… following a complaint by Sherpa, the Comité contre l’Esclavage Moderne and 12 former construction workers, Vinci Construction Grands Projets has been indicted, in relation to its construction sites in Qatar.

In 2022, Sherpa, algonside ActionAid France, the Petrol-Iş trade union and 34 former employees of Kosan Kozmetik, the Turkish subsidiary of the Rocher group, have taken the cosmetics company to court. We accuse the French company of having failed to meet its obligations under the French law on the duty of vigilance with regard to the freedom to join a union and workers’ fundamental rights. This legislation aims precisely at preventing violations from occurring within French groups operating in countries where as in this case, trade union freedom is threatened.

Environment: recognising companies’ liabilities for their activities abroad 

After several years of investigation, in cooperation with the Congolese civil society and an initial “pre-trial” action aimed at lifting the veil on the company’s corporate opacity, Sherpa and Friends of the Earth France, supported by the NGO Environmental Investigation Agency, have initiated a groundbreaking legal action against the oil company Perenco. In regards to the pollution linked to the group’s activities in the Democratic Republic of Congo, we demand that the company be ordered to remedy the environmental damages caused in the DRC.

This year was also marked by the victory of Sherpa and its partners in the Cameroonian palm oil case against Bolloré: the appeal judges once again ruled in favour of the associations.

Ill-gotten gains: the end of a judicial saga and a victory against the “Butcher of Hama”

The French highest court has confirmed the condemnation of Syrian former vice president, Rifaat al-Assad, to four years in prison for money laundering and embezzlement and the confiscation of his assets located in France. For Sherpa, at the forefront of the fight against international corruption and ill-gotten gains for two decades, this condemnation opens the way for the restitution of assets to the looted populations.

Whistleblowers: the voice of associations (partly) heard

Behind the revelations and scandals that have made the headlines in recent years, there aremen and women who decide to speak out to denounce malfunctions and avoid health, ecological or economic crises. In February 2022, the parliament finally adopted a law to improve the protection of whistleblowers. A hope for associations such as Sherpa, mobilised alongside la Maison des Lanceurs d’Alerte!

Taking action and sharing its battles: respect for human rights and the environment in West Africa

From Togo to Benin, via Senegal, 30 civil society organisations have been trained on corporate responsibility thanks to the Vigilance project. This project, leadby Sherpa and its partners RSE-et-PED France, RSE-et-PED Togo, RSE Benin and La Lumière (Senegal), has been implemented since 2021 to address the lack of economic actors’ regulation, behind most of environmental damage and violations of workers’ and local communities’ rights in these West African countries.

To go further and continue our actions, we need you! 

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Our issues: fighting for accountability in a globalized world

Defending Human rights and the environment: fighting against the excesses/abuses of globalization

Through its advocacy work, Sherpa promotes a world built on the respect of human rights and the environment.

We propose a vision of society in which the economy serves people and the environment. A political and social model that is more respectful of communities, ecosystems and workers.

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Protecting the environment and the climate

It is time to recognize that economic globalization is at the root of climate change and the destruction of biodiversity. We can no longer ignore the critical role that large play in the destruction of our ecosystem. Governing globalization through law will require to hold liable actors who pollute the planet and hinder access to the primary resources necessary for all humanity. Sherpa seeks to establish a law that protects the environment and nature.

 

 

Bolloré- Socapalm Case

Casino case – Stop deforestation

Perenco case – Pollution and opacity

Total’s climate case – climate change litigation

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Protecting workers’ rights and fighting modern slavery

The flagrant global disparities in worker protection, which enable multinationals in particular to maximise profit, encourage serious forms of labour exploitation that mainly affect women and children.

Forced labour of Uyghurs

Samsung case

Vinci in Qatar case

Auchan case

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Combating impunity for companies that fuel armed conflicts and international crimes

While the prosecution and conviction of perpetrators of international crimes before international criminal tribunals is now accepted at both the international and national levels, the liability of corporations and their managers for the commission of crimes is hardly ever recognised. Multinational corporations working in conflict zones are likely to exacerbate armed conflicts and profit from human rights violations, particularly by dealing with those responsible for war crimes and crimes against humanity.

Lafarge case

BNP Rwanda case

Voltalia case

French arms sales to Yemen

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Addressing the root causes of poverty and resource deprivation in developing countries

The fight against illicit financial flows is a key element of development and poverty reduction policies. Illicit financial practices threaten the notion of public interest, affect the functioning of public services and fuel citizens’ distrust of governments.

Through its actions to fight corruption, money laundering and tax evasion, Sherpa wants to hold the economic actors who allow capital to escape from the countries of the South accountable. It is crucial to return the misappropriated money to the countries that have been robbed. These revenues are essential for the provision of quality public services and therefore for the realisation of economic, social and cultural rights.

Ill-gotten gains case in Syria, Rifaat al-Assad

Electrogas Malta Limited case: Complaint against several French banks for money laundering and concealment

France – Libya case, from the financing of Sarkozy’s campaign to transnational grand corruption

Rio Tinto case: alleged corruption in the award of a mining concession in Guinea

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Paris, November 17, 2019 – Sherpa announces the departure of William Bourdon from the Board of Directors. He remains Founding President of the association. 

A lawyer at the Paris Bar, he founded Sherpa in 2001, accompanying its development as President until 2017. For many years, he was Sherpa’s voice and brought his committed expertise and innovative vision to the fight against economic crimes around the world.

Under his presidency, emblematic strategic litigation cases were launched, setting unique precedents in French case law and enabling the French legislative framework to evolve in a sustainable way.

In particular, he initiated a complaint on behalf of Burmese refugees who alleged that they had been victims of forced labour at the Yadana site operated by TOTAL in Burma. A judicial investigation had been opened and following a long legal battle, a settlement was reached in November 2005. Under this unprecedented agreement, the complainants were compensated and the Burmese refugee communities in Thailand were provided with a €5 million fund.

As President of Sherpa, he filed a complaint in March 2007 against Teodoro NGUEMA OBIANG that opened the great legal saga of the ill-gotten gains. This procedure has contributed to the emergence of case law on the criminal admissibility of anticorruption associations. It has remarkably consolidated the jurisdiction of French courts with regard to money laundering committed in France but whose original offense was committed abroad. Teodoro NGUEMA OBIANG’s appeal trial is scheduled to begin in December, after he was sentenced on October 27, 2017 to three years’ suspended imprisonment and 175 million euros in confiscation of his property. In a near future, this procedure should set the legal framework for the restitution of assets to populations.

His involvement, his work and publications have contributed to decisive steps in the fight against impunity for multinationals. The indictment of executives and then the Lafarge company, the procedures for misleading advertising – Samsung and Auchan and for modern slavery Vinci in Qataris  are thus illustrative of the multiple strategic litigation cases showing the flaws in national and international law regarding the liability of economic actors throughout their value chain. These cases served as a laboratory to support the adoption in 2017 of the Law on the duty of vigilance which legally enshrines this responsibility for the first time and now serves as an example at the international level.

Sherpa keeps this pioneering and innovative spirit. The arrival of Franceline Lepany as President in 2017 had already opened a new era for Sherpa, characterized by the appointment of Sandra Cossart as a Director and the renewal of a large part of the team. This team, with the support of the Board of Directors, perpetuates and develops Sherpa’s vision initiated by William Bourdon.

Sherpa will continue to develop its international role and network and will rely on its resources and a strengthened team to build and promote a more protective legal framework for populations in the face of globalization. Sherpa will still be able to count on William Bourdon’s support in the implementation of this strategy, and we warmly thank him.

Once more, a smear campaign is launched against SHERPA following the complaint filed in the Rafale case.

SHERPA is used to initiatives aiming at discrediting its action every time these actions have targeted the bribe payers of the planet, being private or public actors.

It must be reminded that contrarily to what has been indicated in various Indian media and elsewhere, the NGO has never worked for anybody and has always acted in complete independence.

It is therefore absolutely improper to claim that Mr. Mohamed BOUAMATOU is the sole funder of SHERPA, and that SHERPA would act only in its sole interest. Anyone checking the financial statements available on SHERPA’s website, can notice that for many years it has received grants from various and different private and public organizations, in addition to donations. Moreover, investigations related to Mauritania are only a marginal activity.

Anyone visiting SHERPA’s website will find that these obviously are the major litigation cases such as the “Ill-gotten gains” in Western and Central Africa (leading to a ground-breaking decision that is the conviction of Teodorin OBIANG, son of the Equatorial Guinea President, by a judgment dated October 27, 2017, appealed from, for various financial offences), the LAFARGE / BNP PARIBAS / AUCHAN / VINCI / SAMSUNG cases, are the essential part of SHERPA’s activities.

We have led a pioneer work on the legal framework for environmental and social corporate accountability. In particular, on the duty of vigilance we conducted an advocacy campaign that led to the passing of a landmark law in March 2017.  This law on the duty of vigilance is now an essential marker and an objective for many other countries in the world, and for the European Union.

In addition, all defamation proceedings against SHERPA, which are nothing more “Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation (SLAPP), have failed.

SHERPA expects the National Public Prosecutor’s Office to launch an investigation taking into account the serious presumptions of the commission of the reported infringements.

We will continue to act in accordance with our purpose and to find remedies adapted to all the damages resulting from the impunity with which big private or public leaders continue to damage the general interest, to despise and violate the law and their commitments.

Today, a court in Paris will begin hearing the defamation suit that the Luxembourg-based holding company Socfin and its Cameroonian subsidiary Socapalm have brought against three French media outlets (Mediapart, L’Obs and Le Point) and two NGOs (Sherpa and ReAct) over articles about protests by rural residents and farmers who live near plantations run by these two companies in West Africa.

The two companies are closely linked to the French conglomerate Bolloré, whose chairman and CEO, Breton businessman Vincent Bolloré, sits on their boards.

A Paris court yesterday dismissed the latest of many lawsuits by the Bolloré group against the Paris-based weekly magazine Les Inrocks. But tomorrow’s case marks a new stage in the lawsuits brought by the Breton billionaire and his partners against media outlets, NGOs and journalists who try to shed light on his business activities in Africa, his links with Socfin and the consequences of their large-scale land acquisitions.

Since 2009, more than 20 defamation suits have been brought in France – or in other countries in order to circumvent France’s 1881 press freedom law – by the Bolloré group or Socfin in response to articles, TV reports, NGO reports and even a book. The targets of these actions have included France Inter, France Culture, France Info, France 2, Bastamag, Libération, Mediapart, Rue 89, Greenpeace, ReAct and Sherpa. More than 40 reporters, photographers, media lawyers, NGO representatives and media CEOs have been involved (list below).

Because of their scale and systematic nature, we regard these legal actions as “gag suits” – lawsuits designed to suppress criticism. Big multinational corporations are increasingly resorting to such procedures. Apple, Areva, Vinci and Véolia have all recently sued NGOs or whistleblowers.

By bringing defamation suits with such unprecedented frequency – even when they are abandoned mid-course – the Bolloré group is now retaliating in an almost automatic manner to any public reference by outsiders to its African activities.

These lawsuits are reinforcing the other methods of obstructing media freedom to which the Bolloré group resorts. In 2014, for example, the group’s advertising agency Havas tried to withdraw advertising worth more than 7 million euros from the newspaper Le Monde after it ran a story about Vincent Bolloré’s activities in Côte d’Ivoire. Canal+, a TV channel owned by the Bolloré entertainment company Vivendi, has censored or suppressed current affairs documentaries before they were broadcast.

Systematic lawsuits of this kind aim to pressure, financially weaken, and isolate any journalist, whistleblower or NGO that tries to shed light on questionable activities by big corporations such as Bolloré. The goal is to silence them and deter investigative reporting in order to protect “business confidentiality,” especially when the business activity concerned could have bad consequences for some.

They constitute direct attacks on the public interest and freedom of expression, and they target local communities, journalists, grass-roots groups, lawyers and whistlelowers – all the links in the chain for defending rights.

We – grass-roots collectives, journalists, media outlets and NGOs – offer our support to the journalists and NGOs who will be in court on 25 and 26 January, and to all those who are the targets of such gag suits. France needs legislative amendments akin to those adopted in Quebec province and in certain US and Australian states that strengthen freedom of expression and provide better protection for the targets of gag suits. Providing information is not a crime! #We won’t shut up!

Signatories

Jean-Pierre Canet (journaliste),  Benoît Collombat (journaliste, Radio France), Nadia Djabali (journaliste), Samuel Forey (journaliste, prix Albert Londres 2017, L’Ebdo), Raphaël Garrigos (journaliste, Les Jours), Simon Gouin (journaliste, Bastamag), Maureen Grisot (journaliste), Elodie Guéguen (journaliste, Radio France), Pierre Haski (journaliste, Rue 89), Thomas Horeau (journaliste, France 2), Dan Israel (journaliste, Mediapart), Erik Kervellec (directeur de la rédaction, France Info), Geoffrey Le Guilcher (Les Inrocks), John-Paul Lepers (journaliste, La Télé Libre), Julien Lusson (ancien directeur de publication, Bastamag), Jacques Monin (journaliste, Radio France), Jean-Baptiste Naudet (journaliste, L’Obs), Nicolas Poincaré (journaliste, Europe 1), Martine Orange (journaliste, Mediapart), Fanny Pigeaud (journaliste), Matthieu Rénier (journaliste, prix Albert Londres 2017, France 2), Isabelle Ricq (photographe), Jean-Baptiste Rivoire (journaliste, Canal+), Isabelle Roberts (journaliste, Les Jours), Agnès Rousseaux (journaliste, Bastamag), Ivan du Roy (journaliste, Bastamag), David Servenay (journaliste), David Thomson (journaliste, Prix Albert Londres 2017, RFI), Nicolas Vescovacci (journaliste), Tristan Waleckx (journaliste, prix Albert Londres 2017, France 2).

Medias ans organizations

Abaca Press, ActionAid France, AFASPA 95, Alternatives économiques, Association de la presse judiciaire, Attac France, Bastamag, Bondy Blog, collectif « Informer n’est pas un délit », collectif « On ne se taira pas », Collectif des associations citoyennes, CRID, France Libertés, GRAIN, Greenpeace France, Les Jours, Mediapart, Prix Albert Londres, Ritimo, ReAct, Reporters sans frontières, Sherpa, Survie, La Télé Libre, Union syndicale Solidaires.

French Sociétés des journalistes of : 

AFP, BFM TV, Challenges, Les Echos, Europe 1, France 2, France 3, Le Monde, L’Humanité, Libération, L’Obs, Mediapart, M6, Premières Lignes, Radio France, RMC,  RTL, Télérama, TF1, TV5Monde, La Vie.