Want a Piece of Trump's Wall? Keep Clear of Armed Groups

Eric Olsen, CEO of LafargeHolcim Ltd., is resigning less than two years after taking charge of the world’s biggest cement maker. He's bitten the bullet over allegations that Lafarge SA employees facilitated payments to armed groups in Syria before the merger with Switzerland’s Holcim.

There are many disturbing things about this case. But Olsen’s behavior apparently isn’t one of them: an internal investigation, aided by outside counsel and forensic accountants, concluded he wasn’t responsible for, nor aware of, any wrongdoing. Yet as Lafarge’s head of operations at the time, maybe he should have been better informed. Olsen says his departure will restore “serenity”. The Franco-Swiss company probably needed a sacrifice to avoid the case escalating.