March 22 – Suspended FIFA executive committee member Vernon Manilal Fernando’s world appears to be closing in on him. The Swiss cement giant he works for, Holcim, has revealed he is being fired following breaches of company rules and regulations.
Fernando was suspended earlier this month by FIFA following a request by Michael Garcia, chairman of the investigatory chamber of FIFA’s ethics committee and Hans-Joachim Eckert, who heads the adjudicatory chamber. Fernando, 63, is banned from any football activity for 90 days as part of an ongoing investigation by corruption busters believed to be linked to financial irregualrities
Now an article in the Swiss commercial weekly, Handelszeitung, reports that Swiss cement giant Holcim has taken action against its Sri Lankan chief. (http://www.handelszeitung.ch/unternehmen/holcim-trennt-sich-von-korrupten-chefs)
Holcim has made headlines in recent years over corruption and fraud allegations surrounding its international business practices. The company is one of the world’s leading suppliers of cement and aggregates (crushed stone, sand and gravel) and until recently was owned by the Schmidheiny family who now hold a 20% stake.
Following the corruption allegations the company introduced tough new guidelines and encourages internal reporting of unfair practices. Fernando, who presides over the local Holcim Lanka subsidiary, has fallen foul of the new regime and internal investigations have shown, the company says, that Fernando disregarded rules and regulations.
Rolf Soiron, chairman of Holcim, said: “We practice zero tolerance (at Holcim), Mr Manilal Fernando will soon have stepped down from office (in Sri Lanka).
At the end of 2012, Holcim launched an investigation into its corporate affairs in Sri Lanka. Soiron did not explain what the detailed findings against Fernando are. Fernando had been with Holcim for 17 years.
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