French cement maker Lafarge pleads guilty to supporting ISIS

Company ordered by US federal court to pay $778m after supporting terror group through factory in Syria

French cement company Lafarge must pay hundreds of millions of dollars to the US Justice Department for supporting ISIS and other terrorist groups, the company and its parent Holcim Group said in a statement on Tuesday.

Lafarge pleaded guilty in a New York federal court to providing support to ISIS in Syria, marking the first time a company has admitted in the US to supporting a terrorist organisation.

As part of its guilty plea, Lafarge agreed to forfeit $687m and pay a $90m fine.

Lafarge is also facing charges in Paris of complicity in crimes against humanity for operating a factory in Syria after the country's civil war broke out in 2011.

The French cement maker previously admitted that its Syrian subsidiary had paid armed groups to protect staff at the plant and keep the facility running, though it denied charges that it was complicit in crimes against humanity.

Lafarge chairman Magali Anderson said in court that, from August 2013 until November 2014, former executives at the company “knowingly and wilfully agreed to participate in a conspiracy to make and authorise payments intended for the benefit of various armed groups in Syria”.

“The individuals responsible for this conduct have been separated from the company since at least 2017,” she said.

In a statement, Holcim said “none of the conduct involved Lafarge operations or employees in the United States and none of the executives who were involved in the conduct are with Lafarge or any affiliated entities today”.

The company said former Lafarge executives involved in the scheme had concealed their conduct from Holcim and from external auditors.

Rights groups previously accused Lafarge of paying $12.79m to armed groups — including to ISIS militants — to allow them to continue operating in Syria between 2011 and 2015.

Lafarge became a part of the Swiss-listed Holcim in 2015. The SIX Swiss Exchange suspended trading in Holcim before Tuesday's announcement.

Reuters contributed to this report