French Court Examines Lafarge’s Dealings with Armed Groups in Syria
Lafarge, along with eight of its former top executives, is facing trial in Paris, accused of providing financial support to terrorism amid Syria’s civil war.
The company itself is being prosecuted as a legal entity.
During the proceedings, judges questioned the accused about alleged “negotiations” between Lafarge’s Syrian branch and several militant groups, including ISIS (Daesh).
Bruno Lafont, former CEO of Lafarge, stated that he would have closed the Syrian facility sooner had he been aware of these interactions.
“Until Aug. 27, 2014, I never suspected that payments had been made to terrorist organizations,” he asserted.
Bruno Pescheux, who led Lafarge Cement Syria (LCS) from 2008 to 2014 and is also a defendant, said that his primary concern at the time was ensuring that the company’s trucks could continue functioning.
“These payments (made to terrorist organizations) were intended to allow our employees to move around freely,” he explained.
Pescheux also acknowledged that Syrian defendant Firas Tlass, who acted as a liaison between Lafarge and armed factions, had conducted several meetings with members of the ISIS terrorist group.
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