Lafarge has been found guilty of financing terrorism and violating international sanctions by a French court, while several of its former executives have been handed jail sentences in a case that has put corporate ethics firmly under the spotlight.
The cement company, along with four former executives, was found guilty of paying €5.5 million ($6.5 million) in protection money during 2013 and 2014 via its Syrian subsidiary, Lafarge Cement Syria (LCS), to terrorist groups including the Islamic State (IS) as part of a deal to keep its cement plant in northern Syria operational during the country’s civil war—despite the risks financing terrorism might have on its local staff.
