Banana group paid off terorrists

AMERICAN banana giant Chiquita Brands International has admitted that a subsidiary paid protection money to Colombian terrorist groups, sparking a probe by the US Department of Justice.

Chiquita said its Colombian subsidiary was forced to make the transfers 'to protect its employees from the risks to their safety if the payments were not made'.

It did not name the groups paid off or the sums involved, or say when the payments were made.

The company stressed that its admission was voluntary, that staff were co-operating with the probe, and that the situation was 'isolated and unique'. It added that it saw the issue as 'manageable'.

Since 1997 the US State Department has published a list o foreign terrorist organisations, which includes the Palestinian group Hamas and global terror group al Qaeda. To be included the group must threaten US nationals or its national security.

It is illegal for a US company or individual to channel funds to any group on the list. Chiquita said that it tipped off US officials in April 2003 about the Colombian payments when it realised that the transfers from its subsidiary could break the law.

Two Colombian groups are named on the State Department's list: the left-wing Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia and its right-wing foe, the United Self Defence Forces of Colombia.