Lafarge trial in Paris: Confessions to paying royalties to terrorist organizations in Syria
The Paris Criminal Court has witnessed a new round of trial sessions for the French company Lafarge, accused of paying money to militant groups in Syria and violating international sanctions, in one of the most controversial cases in recent years.
During the hearing took place on Wednesday, Judge Isabelle Prevost Desprez asked the defendants direct questions about the company’s payments to armed groups in Syria.
The company’s former CEO, Bruno Lafon, denied that he had any knowledge of these transfers, stressing that he had not received any official notification within the company, and noted that he regretted that he wasn’t aware of the security risks that were surrounding the factory, considering that paying extremist organizations under the pretext of protecting facilities cannot be justified.
But the testimony of Christian Herault, deputy director of operations from 2012 to 2015, contradicted Lafon’s claims, asserting that the company was forced to submit to a royalty system imposed by armed groups in the region, and that these payments were ongoing and not just individual cases.
He revealed that Lafon was aware of a 2012 meeting attended by Syrian Businessman Firas Tlass, who played the role of an intermediary between the company and the militants.
Jacob Warnes, the company’s security officer from 2011 to 2013, said he was not in a position to know where the money managed by Tlass was finally reaching.
The court resumed its hearing on the case on November 18, after a brief suspension due to a procedural glitch related to the referral of the former director of the company’s branch in Syria.
Lafarge and his associates face serious charges, most notably terror financing and violating international sanctions.
Between 2013 and 2014, the company paid nearly five million euros to designated terrorist groups, including ISIS and al Nusra Front, through its Lafarge Cement Syria subsidiary, in exchange for the continued operation of its factory in Jalabiya in the north of Syria.
It also used intermediaries to secure the protection of the factory and procure raw materials from areas under the control of the groups.
The case, which was opened in 2017, was based on media reports and complaints from the French Ministry of Economy and human rights organizations, as well as former employees of the company in Syria.
In 2022, Lafarge admitted in the United States to paying millions of dollars to armed groups and paid a whopping $778 million in fines.
In France, the company could face a record fine of up to €1.125 billion if found guilty of financing terrorism, while financial penalties could be even greater if it is found to have violated the economic embargo on Syria.
Lafon’s lawyer stressed that his client wasn’t aware of these payments, calling the company’s admission in the United States a blow to the presumption of innocence and a blow to former officials.
The investigating judges argue that French intelligence’s knowledge of what happened doesn’t imply that the state approved or justified the financing.
The case remains open, and with each hearing new details emerge that further complicate the Lafarge dossier, which has become a global model of how giant corporations can find themselves at the center of bloody conflicts.
