Cement Giant

The Paris court ruled on Monday that the French cement company Lafarge was guilty of financing terrorism through its Syrian subsidiary during the Syrian civil war in 2013 and 2014. The court found that Lafarge paid millions of euros to ISI and other armed extremist groups to keep its cement plant operating in northern Syria, despite the violence and instability in the region. 

According to the ruling, Lafarge made payments through intermediaries and local groups so employees, supplies, and customers could pass through the checkpoints controlled by ISIS and other militant organizations. Judges stated that the company knowingly violated European sanctions and prioritized economic profits over human safety and international law. Presiding Judge Isabelle Prevost-Desprez said the company had created a commercial partnership with terrorist groups to continue business operations. 

The court ordered Lafarge to pay a fine of about 1.125 million euros, the maximum penalty allowed, and confiscated about 30 million euros worth of company assets. Eight former employees and executives were also found guilty. Former CEO Bruno Lafont was sentenced to six years in prison, while former deputy managing director Christian Herrarault received a five- year sentence. Other executives and intermediaries involved in the case received sentences ranging from 18 months to seven years. 

The investigation revealed that Lafarge’s Syrian subsidiary paid nearly 5.6 million euros to extremist organizations, including ISIS and the al-Nusra Front, between 2013 and 2014. Prosecutors argued that these payments helped terrorist groups strengthen their control over parts of Syria and finance attacks both in the Middle East and abroad, including in Europe. 

The case has become one of the most significant corporate terrorism-financing trials in French history. Human rights organizations described the ruling as a landmark moment for corporate accountability, arguing that multinational companies should be held responsible when their actions contribute to violence and human rights abuses. 

The scandal had already attracted international attention in 2022 when Lafarge attention in 2022 when Lafarge admitted guilt in a separate United States case. In that case, the company acknowledged that its Syrian subsidiary paid $6 million to ISIS and other armed groups to allow workers and materials to move through checkpoints. Lafarge agreed to pay nearly $778 million in penalties to the U.S. authorities, marking the first time a corruption pleaded guilty in the United States to providing material support to a terrorist organization. 

Although Lafarge admitted that money was paid to intermediaries, the company argued that it was not directly responsible for the funds eventually reaching terrorist groups. However, the French court rejected that defense, ruling the company knowingly allowed the payments to continue for financial gain. 

A second legal case against Lafarge is still ongoing in France. That investigation focuses on the allegations of complicity in crimes against humanity because the company continued operating in Syria even as civilians and employees faced extreme danger during the war. 

Written by: Trinity Kejbou