French Court Probes Lafarge’s Dealings with Syrian Armed Factions
Lafarge, along with eight former senior officials, is being prosecuted in Paris on accusations of financing terrorism amid the turmoil of Syria’s civil conflict.
The corporation itself faces charges as a legal entity.
Throughout the proceedings, magistrates interrogated the accused about alleged “negotiations” involving Lafarge’s Syrian branch and numerous militant groups, among them ISIS (Daesh).
Ex-Lafarge CEO Bruno Lafont stated that he would have ordered the closure of the Syrian site much sooner had he been aware of such 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 likewise on trial, clarified that at the time his primary priority was guaranteeing the continued circulation of the plant’s transport vehicles.
“These payments (made to terrorist organizations) were intended to allow our employees to move around freely,” he explained.
Pescheux also verified that Syrian national Firas Tlass—who served as a go-between for Lafarge and the armed groups—had conducted several meetings with ISIS representatives.
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