French cement company Lafarge found guilty of financing terrorism in Syria

A French court on Monday found cement giant Lafarge, its former CEO Bruno Lafont and seven other executives guilty of financing terrorism over payments made to armed groups, including the ISIS (Daesh) terror group, during the Syrian civil war, Anadolu reports. The Paris court ruled that Lafarge paid about €5.6 million ($6.5 million) to armed groups in Syria between 2013 and 2014, in order to maintain operations at its cement plant in Jalabiya in the country’s north. It said Lafarge paid about $972,000 directly to terrorist groups, including more than $584,000 to ISIS. According to the judgment, the payments were made through the company’s Syrian subsidiary to secure supply routes, ensure the movement of employees and goods, and allow the […]