A court in Paris has found Lafarge, the French cement company, guilty of paying $6.5 million to jihadist groups, including the Islamic State (IS) and the al Qaeda-affiliated Al-Nusra Front.
The case marks the first time a company has been prosecuted in France for financing terrorism, following an investigation that began in 2017.
Bruno Lafont, the company’s former chief executive, was sentenced to six years in prison for terrorism financing, while Christian Herrault, former deputy managing director, received a five-year sentence in Monday’s ruling.
Lafarge said it acknowledged the court’s findings, stating that the actions occurred more than a decade ago and were in “flagrant violation of Lafarge’s Code of Conduct”.
‘Financing terrorism’
Lafarge’s factory in Syria began operations in 2010, shortly before the uprising that led to a civil war.
While several multinational firms exited Syria in 2012, Lafarge withdrew only its foreign staff, leaving Syrian employees in place until September 2014, when IS — which had declared a “caliphate” across parts of Syria and Iraq — took control of the facility.
Prosecutors said Lafarge workers were housed in the nearby town of Manbig and had to cross the Euphrates River to access the plant.
The court heard that the company paid intermediaries to ensure the safe passage of employees and trucks.
Isabelle Prevost-Desprez, the presiding judge, said it was evident the payments were intended to keep the factory operational but added that the funds strengthened groups responsible for attacks in Syria and abroad.
Those payments were “essential in enabling the terrorist organisations to gain control of Syria’s natural resources, allowing it to finance terrorist acts within the region and those planned abroad, particularly in Europe,” Prevost-Desprez said.
She added that the undisclosed sums paid to jihadist groups contributed to the “extreme gravity of the offences”.
Herrault had argued that keeping the factory open was aimed at protecting local employees.
Lafarge, now owned by Holcim, was fined €1.125 million.
Major cement producer in Nigeria
With an installed production capacity of about 10.5 million metric tonnes annually across four plants, Lafarge remains one of Nigeria’s leading cement producers.
In February, the company announced plans to expand its Ashaka plant in Gombe State and its Sagamu plant in Ogun State.
Once completed, the Ashaka facility is expected to reach a capacity of two million metric tonnes per year, while the Sagamu plant is projected to attain 3.5 million metric tonnes annually.
Last August, Holcim sold its entire 83.81% stake in Lafarge Africa Plc to Huaxin Cement in a deal valued at $1 billion on a full equity basis, before dividend adjustments.
Meanwhile, the Federal Government of Nigeria recently released a list of 48 individuals and groups allegedly linked to terrorism financing, amid increased scrutiny of financial networks supporting armed groups.
The report named the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) among groups reportedly receiving funding, alongside individuals such as Simon Ekpa and Tukur Mamu, who is currently facing trial over alleged involvement in terrorism financing.
In Nigeria, IS operates primarily through ISWAP and is known for attacks across the north-east and the Lake Chad region.
President Bola Tinubu has described terrorism in Africa as “an imported evil”.