Vinci case in Qatar
Why was a legal action brought against Vinci?
In view of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, Vinci has won major contracts to modernize infrastructures. The company has employed many migrants through its Qatari subsidiary, Qatari Diar Vinci Construction (QDVC), and its subcontractors.
When they went to Qatar in 2014, Sherpa collected testimonies on the working conditions at that time on some of the construction sites operated by Vinci’s Qatari subsidiary, which included for instance: work in the heat over 45° C with insufficient water or shade, the withholding of passports, having to pay significant sums of money to recruitment agencies, fainting, insufficient access to showers in accommodation, etc. Given these elements, in order to have an investigation carried out to legally sanction these suspected infringements if they were confirmed, Sherpa has filed several complaints, including a first complaint in 2015. Sherpa was then joined in 2018 by the Comité contre l’Esclavage Moderne (Committee against Modern Slavery) and several former workers.
Following Sherpa’s first complaint, Vinci sued for defamation and infringement of their presumption of innocence, seeking compensation of several hundred thousand euros against Sherpa, its president at the time and several of its employees. Numerous actors have denounced Vinci’s reaction, saying it was a “SLAPP” (Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation). Since then, the company has lowered the amount of its compensation claims to a symbolic one euro. Sherpa won the case brought for an alleged violation of the presumption of innocence. As to the defamation procedure, it is currently underway, suspended until the outcome of the criminal complaint.
Sherpa recalls that any person accused or prosecuted by a national or international jurisdiction is presumed innocent until found guilty by a final court decision. In this respect, an appealable decision does not constitute a final decision.
Timeline
Filing of a complaint
Complaint filed for reduction to servitude and forced labor, among others, against Vinci Construction Grands Projets and the French executives of its Qatari subsidiary.
Filing of a complaint
Sherpa and a former worker filed a complaint with a claim for criminal indemnification.
Filing of a complaint
Filing of a complaint with a claim for criminal indemnification by Sherpa and the Comité contre l’Esclavage Moderne together with 6 former workers of QDVC.
Opening of a judicial investigation
Following the complaint with a claim for criminal indemnification of March 8, 2019.
Vinci under judicial investigation
Under investigation
Sherpa continues to play its role in the investigation, and regularly provides additional elements in support of the complaint.