SUMMARY
In June 2013, just months after initially blocking a $1.27 billion Indiana Economic Development Corporation (IEDC) incentive package authorized to Midwest Fertilizer Co, Pence reversed course and authorized Indiana’s Finance Authority to transfer federal bond money to Posey County officials for use in building a fertilizer plant in Indiana. Midwest Fertilizer Co was the start-up subsidiary of the Fatima Group, the only known supplier of CAN in Pakistan—a key product used in 70 percent of homemade bombs responsible for injuring and killing thousands of U.S. troops in Afghanistan. The company actively flouted Pentagon requests to take basic measures to reduce access to its materials.Pence’s move allowed the project to receive federal funds without explicit state support. Pence authorized the transfer despite acknowledging that he was unable to obtain assurances that Fatima Group had taken steps to stop the flow of bomb-making materials into the hands of terrorists. In 2014, following a Department of Defense report concluding the Fatima had taken the appropriate actions to reduce access to its materials, Pence allowed the IEDC to offer between $3 million and $4 million in state incentives to Midwest Fertilizer Co.
One Day After His Inauguration, Pence Directed The IEDC To Place A $1.3 Billion Incentive For The Fertilizer Manufacturer, Fatima Group, On Hold Following Concerns It Failed To Cooperate with Pentagon Officials On Reducing IED Threats In Central And South Asia. In In an editorial Fort Wayne Journal Gazette wrote, “A 48 percent share of Midwest Fertilizer Corp. is owned by the Fatima Group, a Pakistan-based company cited by U.S. Department of Defense’s Joint Improvised Explosive Device Defeat Organization for failing to cooperate in efforts to reduce the IED threat in Central and South Asia.[…] Pence’s decision was clearly shaped by meeting some of those soldiers during his travels as a six-term congressman, but it didn’t appear to have been made lightly. He directed the Indiana Economic Development Corp. to place the $1.3 billion incentive package, approved by the previous administration, on hold the day after his Jan. 14 inauguration.” [Fort Wayne Journal Gazette, 5/21/13]
Fatima Group’s Fertilizer Components Were Being Used By Terrorists In Pakistan And Afghanistan To Build Homemade Bombs—The “No 1. Killer Of American Service Members In Afghanistan." According to Washington Times, “. Fatima’s fertilizer components are used by terrorists in Pakistan and Afghanistan to build homemade bombs — the No. 1 killer of American service members in Afghanistan. Fatima’s corporate leaders know this is happening, based on communications with Obama administration officials and military leaders, but they have refused pleas to control the flow, according to an Army general.” [Washington Times, 1/27/13]
The Majority Of Ammonium Nitrate Used In Bombs Came From The Fatima Group-Owned Plants In Pakistan, Which Was Being Smuggled In Afghanistan. According to The Washington Post, “Almost all of the ammonium nitrate used in the Taliban’s bombs comes from two big fertilizer plants in Pakistan, both owned by the Fatima Group, based in Lahore. The production and sale of ammonium nitrate is legal in Pakistan but banned in Afghanistan because of the IEDs. Officials from the Fatima Group did not respond to a request for comment.” [Washington Post, 9/27/12]
U.S. Officials Have Photographs Showing Tens Of Thousands Of Pounds Of Fatima Group’s Fertilizer Being Smuggled Into Afghanistan Via Truck. According to The Washington Post, “U.S. officials have photographs of tens of thousands of pounds of the Fatima Group’s fertilizer that has been smuggled into Afghanistan in trucks and then confiscated by U.S. and Afghan troops. The company’s two multimillion dollar plants in Pakistan’s Punjab province are the only facilities authorized by the Pakistani government to manufacture the fertilizer.” [Washington Post, 9/27/12]
Fatima Group Executives Refused A Deal To Add U.S. Supplied Pink Or Yellow Dyes To The Fertilizer To Make It Easier To Prevent Further Smuggling Across The Border Into Afghanistan. According to The Washington Post, “Earlier this year, senior U.S. military officials met with Fatima Group executives to try to persuade them to add U.S.-supplied pink or yellow dyes to their fertilizer to make it easier to spot at border crossings. But Fatima Group officials rejected the American entreaties, according to U.S. officials. ‘They said, ‘We are not going to do it because it would single us out . . . as being the source of the material,’ ’ said the senior U.S. official, who met with Fatima executives and recounted the conversation.” [Washington Post, 9/27/12]
June 2013: Pence Shifted Course And Approved The Fertilizer Plant By Instructing The Indiana Finance Authority To Transfer Federal Disaster Bonds From Its Control To Posey County. According to the Evansville Courier & Press, “Gov. Mike Pence shifted course Tuesday on the $1.8 billion fertilizer plant proposed to be built in Posey County, clearing the way for local officials to offer incentives that would help finance the plant’s construction. The latest move comes a month after Pence withdrew an offer of $1.3 billion in federal disaster bonds that would have paid for the plant’s construction, citing security concerns related to the Pakistani company that is behind the Midwest Fertilizer Corp. plant. On Pence’s instructions, the state-run Indiana Finance Authority will now transfer those bonds from its control to Posey County - in effect allowing local officials to move forward with the exact same plan that he instructed the state to withdraw.” [Evansville Courier & Press, 6/19/13]
Pence Spokeswoman Christy Denault, June 2013: “Department Of Defense Officials Still Have Not Been Able To Independently Confirm Fatima Group’s Promise To Replace Their Current Fertilizer In Pakistan With A Formula Less Susceptible To Misuse By Hostile Forces In The Region.” According to Evansville Courier & Press, “‘The state of Indiana stands by its decision to withdraw support for the Midwest Fertilizer project since Department of Defense officials still have not been able to independently confirm Fatima Group’s promise to replace their current fertilizer in Pakistan with a formula less susceptible to misuse by hostile forces in the region,’ said Pence’s spokeswoman, Christy Denault. ‘Despite a difference of opinion on the matter, Gov. Pence /respects the prerogative of local officials to continue to explore the possibility of moving forward and has instructed the Indiana Finance Authority not to stand in the way of Posey County officials pursuing the project on their own.’” [Evansville Courier & Press, 6/19/13]
2014: Pence “Dropped His Opposition” After A Department Of Defense Review Concluded Fatima Had Been Cooperating With The Government On Reducing Access To Bomb-Making Materials. According to Fox59, “Indiana Gov. Mike Pence withdrew state support for the project in early 2013, citing U.S. military officials’ concerns about fertilizer made overseas by Fatima Group being used in roadside explosives in Afghanistan. Pence dropped his opposition in 2014 after a review by the U.S. Department of Defense found Fatima had been cooperating with the government.” [Fox59, 1/30/16]
Midwest Fertilizer Was Offered Between $3 Million And $4 Million In State Incentives. According to Courier Press, “Chorlton said Midwest Fertilizer was in line to receive between $3 million and $4 million in state incentives, mostly in the form of tax credits.” [Courier Press, 1/8/15]