Cement company, Lafarge, to face trial over subsidiary alleged funding terrorism

Cement company, Lafarge, to face trial over subsidiary alleged funding terrorism

Cement maker, Lafarge, a subsidiary of Swiss-listed Holcim, is set to face trial in France on charges that its Syrian operations financed terrorism and violated European sanctions to maintain factory operations, according to France’s anti-terrorism prosecutor and a key plaintiff.

The company, which merged with Holcim in 2015, has been under investigation since 2016, marking one of the most significant corporate criminal cases in recent French history.

On Wednesday, Paris investigative judges ordered Lafarge to stand trial.

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In response to the decision, Lafarge stated in a message to Reuters on Thursday that it “acknowledged the decision of the investigating judges.” Following the announcement, Holcim’s shares briefly fell nearly 2% during late Wednesday trading before closing 0.7% lower.

The investigation also examines allegations that Lafarge was complicit in crimes against humanity. Sherpa, an anti-corruption organization that initiated the criminal complaint, noted that the case focuses on how the company kept its Syrian factory operational after civil conflict erupted in 2011.

In January, France’s highest court dismissed Lafarge’s appeal to drop the complicity in crimes against humanity charges.

The sanctions-related charges involve breaches of a European prohibition on financial and commercial links with Islamist militant groups, including Islamic State and Al-Nusra, according to Sherpa.

Separately, in a 2022 investigation in the United States, Lafarge admitted that its Syrian subsidiary made payments to groups designated by the U.S. as terrorist organizations, including Islamic State, to safeguard staff at the plant amid the country’s prolonged civil war.

Cement company, Lafarge, to face trial over subsidiary alleged funding terrorism

(REUTERS)