Corporate Complicity in International Crimes

Corporate complicity in international crimes falls under the broader category of state-corporate crime, which encompasses the intersection between state and corporate misconduct. The concept of 'corporate complicity' includes both civil and criminal liability and involves various forms of involvement (e.g., direct participation, assistance, facilitation, benefiting, silent approval) and motivations (e.g., profit-seeking, loss minimization). This chapter presents illustrative examples of corporate complicity in international crimes, a term that covers genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes, which are often also referred to as atrocity crimes. We provide a more detailed examination of two notable examples: the Lundin Oil case, from the oil industry, and the Banque Nationale de Paris and Paribas (BNP Paribas) case, from the financial sector. These cases provide valuable insights into specific instances of alleged complicity in international crimes, while also providing a basis to describe what they share in common with other cases, both within their sectors and beyond.