Paris court convicts Lafarge of financing terrorism in Syria

The French news agency AFP reported that the Paris criminal court issued its verdict on Monday, April 13, convicting the Lafarge Company and eight of its executives, based in the town of Jalabiya, south of Kobani in North-East Syria, of financing terrorism, including ISIS mercenaries, up until 2014. The conviction stemmed from the company's proven payments to jihadist groups between 2013 and 2014 to ensure the continued operation of its factory.

According to the agency, the court concluded that Lafarge, later acquired by the Holcim Group, paid approximately €5.6 million to three armed organizations, among them ISIS and Jabhet al-Nusra, noting that these payments enabled these organizations to plan attacks, including the January 2015 attacks in France.

Judge Isabelle Prévost-Desper, presiding over the court, explained that financing these organizations, particularly ISIS, played a key role in their control of natural resources within Syria, which allowed them to fund terrorist operations both within and outside the region, especially in Europe.

The agency noted that the payments amounted to approximately €4.7 million to entities listed on the terrorism list. It also stated that on October 16, 2024, three investigating judges ordered the trial of the company and eight individuals on charges of financing terrorism, while only the former head of security, Jean-Claude Veillard, was acquitted.

During the trial, the agency noted that the defense team sought to refute the claim that the Jalabiya cement plant, a new investment of €680 million, continued operating for purely financial reasons at the expense of the safety of its thousands of workers.

It added that the court spent weeks meticulously examining emails, meeting minutes, and bank statements, as part of a careful study of a complex network of payments made by Lafarge, through its Syrian intermediary Firas Tlass, to ISIS and Jabhet al-Nusra.

The French newspaper Le Monde previously reported that the company's trial in French courts revealed one of the most sensitive cases concerning the relationship between major corporations and wars and the financing of armed groups. Accusations of corruption and terrorism financing intersected with suspicions of intelligence agency involvement and procedural irregularities, making it one of the most complex trials in France.

The French public prosecutor's office had previously requested a fine of 1.125 million euros against the French company, in addition to the confiscation of assets worth 30 million euros, and the imposition of solidarity customs fines estimated at billions of euros.

It also called for prison sentences of up to eight years for eight former senior executives of the group.

The investigation against Lafarge was opened in June 2017 and included its then-chairman and five executives in the operations and security departments, as well as two Syrian intermediaries, one of whom is wanted internationally, on charges of "financing terrorism." The company was also charged with "complicity in crimes against humanity" in 2018 before the charge was dropped in 2019.

However, human rights organizations appealed the decision to the French Court of Cassation, which in September 2021 reopened the case for the company to be charged with "complicity in crimes against humanity."

In January 2024, the Court of Cassation rejected the appeal to drop the charge against the company and upheld the continuation of the investigation.

In October 2024, Sherpa and the European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights announced that three investigating judges had decided to refer Lafarge and four of its former officials to trial on charges of financing terrorism and violating the European Union's ban on establishing any financial or commercial relations with terrorist organizations in Syria, primarily ISIS.