PARIS (Reuters) – The Court of Cassation validated on Tuesday the indictment of the Lafarge group, now a subsidiary of the Holcim group, for “complicity in crimes against humanity” for its activities in Syria until 2014.
The French cement manufacturer is suspected of having paid nearly 13 million euros to armed groups, including the Islamic State (IS) group, to keep its Jalabiya factory, in northern Syria, in operation in 2013 and 2014. .
In May 2022, the Paris Court of Appeal confirmed the indictment for “complicity in crimes against humanity”, an extremely rare accusation for a company.
The Court of Cassation also rejected the indictment of Lafarge for “endangering the lives of others” in this same case.
Lafarge is also indicted for “financing a terrorist enterprise”, a procedure definitively validated in 2021 by the Court of Cassation.
In the United States, Lafarge pleaded guilty in October 2022 to charges related to payments to groups considered terrorist by the United States and agreed to pay $777 million (741.2 million euros).
(Written by Blandine Hénault)
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