French Court Finds Cement Giant Lafarge Guilty of Funding Syrian Terrorism

French Court Finds Lafarge Guilty of Financing Terrorism

A French court has issued a ruling in a long-running case against Lafarge, a cement company, regarding its actions during the Syrian civil war. The court found Lafarge guilty of financing “terrorism” through its Syrian subsidiary and ordered the company to pay a fine of 1.12 million euros.

The court also sentenced several former Lafarge executives, including former CEO Bruno Lafont, to prison terms ranging from five to six years. Lafarge’s former deputy managing director, Christian Herrault, was sentenced to five years in jail.

According to the court, Lafarge paid a total of 5.59 million euros to armed groups in Syria during the war, including to ISIL (ISIS) and the al-Nusra Front. The payments were made to secure safe passage for employees and suppliers and to purchase source materials from quarries controlled by these groups.

The court found that Lafarge breached European sanctions to operate in northern Syria during the conflict. The company’s plant in Jalabiya, located in northern Syria, began operating in 2010 and was used to produce cement.

Lafarge has been involved in several cases related to its conduct during the Syrian civil war. In 2022, the company acknowledged paying nearly 13 million euros to middlemen to keep its Syrian factory running during the war. The company claimed it bore no responsibility for the money winding up in the hands of armed groups.

The ruling can be appealed, and Lafarge’s lawyer has stated that Bruno Lafont plans to appeal his sentence. A second case against the cement company is still ongoing in France.

Source: Al Jazeera