A dramatic turn of events in the USA: accused of financing terrorism in Iraq, Pfizer and 20 laboratories declare war on justice
Big Pharma puts pressure on American justice. Prosecuted for financing terrorism in Iraq, several pharmaceutical giants have demanded that the US Supreme Court withdraw these charges against them in a letter seen by the news agency, Reuters .
At least that's what the news agency told us on July 5th. Indeed, according to this source, more than 20 pharmaceutical companies have asked the American courts to block these lawsuits, accusing them of having financed terrorism in this part of the world. According to the same source, among the major pharmaceutical groups are: Pfizer, AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson.
These American and European pharmaceutical giants are being prosecuted for allegedly paying money to the Jayshal Mahdi group (a group affiliated with Hezbollah) in order to win business in this country. According to the plaintiffs, the Jayshal Mahdi group controlled, at the material time, the Iraqi Ministry of Health.
The same plaintiffs accuse the terrorists of this group of having attacked them thanks to the money they received from American and European pharmaceutical giants. An accusation that the laboratories formally reject. It should be emphasized that this is not the first time that Western multinationals have been cited in the financing of international terrorism.
Indeed, in October 2022, it was the French multinational LaFarge which was fined 778 million dollars for having helped the Islamic State group. This is at least the information that Lecourrier-du-soir.com obtained from several reliable sources on October 18, including the press agency, Reuters . According to this media, the French multinational has admitted having paid money to the terrorist group in order to be able to continue to carry out its activities in Syria.
In its investigative work, Lecourrier-du-soir.com found the press release issued by the United States Department of Justice confirming the conviction. In the press release in question, we learn that LaFarge and its Syrian subsidiary (LaFarge Cement Syria) paid approximately $70.3 million to the Islamic State between 2013 and 2014.
Speaking on this case, Lisa O. Monaco, Deputy Attorney of the United States, was not kind. "The terrorist crimes to which LaFarge and its subsidiary have pleaded guilty remind us of how corporate crime can interact with national security," she said.
And to add: “the defendant collaborated with Daesh, one of the most brutal terrorist organizations the world has ever known, to increase its profits and market share. This conviction is a message sent to all companies and more particularly to those operating in high-risk environments”.
- Source : Sheikh Dieng
