On October 18th, Lafarge pleaded guilty and made a $777.8 million payment to settle a criminal case brought by the U.S. federal government over the French company’s payments to ISIS and another terrorist organization to maintain a cement plant in Syria.
[bs-quote quote=”In the midst of a civil war, Lafarge made the unthinkable choice to put money into the hands of ISIS, one of the world’s most barbaric terrorist organizations, so that it could continue selling cement.” style=”default” align=”left” color=”” author_name=”U.S. Attorney Breon Peace” author_job=”” author_avatar=”” author_link=””][/bs-quote]
From August 2013 to October 2014, $10.24 million in payments were paid to ISIS, the al-Nusrah Front, and middlemen. These payments took place as the terrorist organization was abducting and executing Westerners.
Lafarge was charged with one count of conspiracy to provide material assistance to a foreign terrorist organization in an unsealed indictment in the U.S. District Court in Brooklyn, New York. Lafarge pleaded guilty to the charge and was sentenced there.
Authorities stated that although no one has been charged in the case, their investigation is still ongoing.
In a statement to CNBC, Holcim stated that it agrees with the plea bargain Lafarge negotiated with the DOJ. The DOJ said that before and following Holcim’s acquisition of Lafarge SA, as well as before external auditors, former Lafarge SA and [Lafarge Cement Syria] executives participating in the behavior misled Holcim about it.” None of the conduct involved Holcim, which has never operated in Syria, or any Lafarge operations or employees in the United States. It is in stark contrast with everything that Holcim stands for”.
[bs-quote quote=”We deeply regret that this conduct occurred and have worked with the U.S. Department of Justice to resolve this matter” style=”default” align=”right” color=”” author_name=”Lafarge” author_job=”” author_avatar=”” author_link=””][/bs-quote]
Authorities in France charged Lafarge with complicity in crimes against humanity in 2018 about the ISIS payments. According to a statement released by Lafarge on Tuesday, the company continues to cooperate entirely with the French authorities in their investigation of the behavior. It will defend itself against any legal procedures that it considers unlawful in the French proceedings.
According to Holcim’s statement, the DOJ has decided that Lafarge does not require the appointment of an independent compliance monitor since Holcim has efficient risk and compliance management measures in place to identify potential parallel activity.