French cement maker Lafarge found guilty of financing jihadists in Syria

Bruno Pescheux, former director of the Lafarge plant in Syria, arrives at court in Paris on Monday, April 13, 2026, for the verdict in a case involving payments of millions to terrorist groups a decade ago to keep the factory open. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)

• Eight former ⁠Lafarge employees, including ‌executives, ‌were also found ​guilty ‌of financing ‌terrorism

PARIS: A Paris court ​on Monday found cement maker Holcim’s Lafarge unit guilty of charges that its Syrian subsidiary ‌financed terrorism ‌and ​breached ‌European sanctions ⁠to ​keep a ⁠plant operating in northern Syria during the country’s civil war.
Eight former ⁠Lafarge employees, including ‌executives, ‌were also found ​guilty ‌of financing ‌terrorism.
Judges ruled that Lafarge paid 5.593 million euros ($6.53 million) in ‌total to jihadist groups including Islamic ⁠State ⁠and the Al-Qaeda-affiliated Nusra Front, both designated as terrorists by the EU, between 2013 and September 2014.