Ololade Adeyanju/
A French court has found cement giant, Lafarge, guilty of financing jihadist groups, including Islamic State, during the Syrian civil war.
The ruling, delivered in Paris, established that the company paid about $6.5 million between 2013 and 2014 to armed groups to keep its cement plant operating in northern Syria.
The court held that the payments, described as protection money and commercial arrangements, enabled the groups to strengthen their control over resources and fund attacks beyond Syria.
Judge Isabelle Prevost-Desprez said the payments were made purely for economic reasons and amounted to deliberate support for terrorist organisations.
She noted that the transactions effectively created a form of commercial partnership between Lafarge and the militants.
Eight former employees were also convicted. Among them, former chief executive Bruno Lafont was sentenced to six years in prison, while former deputy managing director Christian Herrault received a five-year term. A former Syrian staff member, Firas Tlass, was sentenced in absentia to seven years for facilitating payments to the groups.
The court heard that Lafarge made specific payments to secure safe passage for staff and to purchase raw materials from quarries under militant control. Among the beneficiaries was the Nusra Front, which was also designated as a terrorist organisation.
The company acknowledged the judgment, describing the matter as a legacy issue involving conduct that violated its internal code. It said the ruling marked an important step in addressing the case.
Lafarge, now owned by Holcim, was fined more than €1 million.
The case marks the first time a company has been convicted in France for financing terrorism.
The cement plant at Jalabiya, acquired in 2008 and operational from 2010, continued to run even after conflict broke out in Syria in 2011.
Prosecutors said employees had to travel through dangerous routes to reach the facility, prompting the payments to armed groups.
A separate investigation into possible complicity in crimes against humanity is still ongoing.
The case follows a 2022 ruling in the United States, where Lafarge admitted to similar conduct and agreed to pay a $777.8 million penalty.
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