France’s Lafarge on trial over alleged payments to jihadist groups in Syria • FRANCE 24 English

It is a trial about corporate greed and the financing of terrorism. Or as French journalists who broke the story nearly a decade ago put it, troubling and shameful arrangements with terrorists, including the Islamic State group. At the heart of the trial of the cement giant Lafarge and eight of its former employees, including its then CEO, Bruno Leaf, is the question of whether the multinational corporation puts profits before all else, including financing terrorism and breaking international sanctions. specifically whether it paid millions to jihadist groups in 2013 and 2014 in Syria so that it could keep its Jalabia cement factory up and running. Completed in 2010, the factory had cost LFAGE 680 million in investments. But then in 2012, the Syrian conflict intensified in the north and the French corporation made a decision. Unlike other multinationals, it did not close its factory. Instead, prosecutors say Lefarge made deals with several armed groups, including the Islamic State. In exchange for payments, the factory personnel would remain safe and the facility stayed open. Fast forward to June 2016, when Lemon broke the story about Lafage, which a year earlier had merged with the Swiss cement group Wholesome. A preliminary investigation was launched. A major scandal ensued, forcing its CEO, Eric Olsen, to resign in 2017. The Paris prosecutor launched a probe with eight executives placed under formal investigation which led to charges against them. Multiple rights groups have also sued the corporation as did the United States for breaking sanctions. Lafage paid $778 million in fines in that case and pleaded guilty to helping terrorists.

French cement maker Lafarge goes on trial on Tuesday, accused of paying jihadist groups to keep its operations running in war-torn Syria. In a previous US trial the company pleaded guilty to providing material support to terrorists and paid a $778 million fine.
#France #Lafarge #LafargeTrial

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4 comments

  4. Now no love lost with LF. But talk about pot and kettle, when the French state rewards Hamas for the October massacres by recognising them. You really could not make it up.
    Plus the French workers were probably advised by the embassy to leave. The Syrian workers were not slaves and could have quit their job at any time, so not an ounce of sympathy for them. Seems the standard vultures gathering as usual and we wonder why France is in the gutter 😂

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