Lafarge pleads guilty to US charges of supporting Islamic State

Accusations that Aggregate Industries’ parent company financed terrorism in Syria date back to 2016 – as we have previously posted.

Today, Reuters reports: 

NEW YORK, Oct 18 (Reuters) - French cement maker Lafarge pleaded guilty on Tuesday to U.S. charges of supporting the Islamic State by keeping a factory running in Syria after conflict broke out in 2011, according to a court hearing. 

The admission in Brooklyn federal court marked the first time a company has pleaded guilty in the United States to charges of providing material support to a terrorist organization. Lafarge, which became part of Swiss-listed Holcim in 2015, is also facing charges of complicity in crimes against humanity in Paris. 

Lafarge agreed to forfeit $687 million and pay a fine of $90 million in its guilty plea.

Breaking News: Lafarge, a French cement company that paid off ISIS to continue operating in Syria, reached a $780 million criminal plea deal with the U.S. Justice Department. https://t.co/CGqwLCwHdl

— The New York Times (@nytimes) October 18, 2022

Lafarge Pleads Guilty to Conspiring to Provide Material Support to Foreign Terrorist Organizations @NewYorkFBI https://t.co/JuBdtP4xou pic.twitter.com/dAAVJYgajk

— FBI (@FBI) October 18, 2022

U.S. Attorney Breon Peace for the Eastern District of New York said: 

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. Lafarge did this not merely in exchange for permission to operate its cement plant – which would have been bad enough – but also to leverage its relationship with ISIS for economic advantage, seeking ISIS’s assistance to hurt Lafarge’s competition in exchange for a cut of Lafarge’s sales. Today, Lafarge has admitted and taken responsibility for its staggering crime. Never before has a corporation been charged with providing material support and resources to foreign terrorist organizations. This unprecedented charge and resolution reflect the extraordinary crimes committed and demonstrates that corporations that take actions in contravention of our national security interests in violation of the law will be held to account.