Lafarge Convicted of Financing Terrorism in Syria

The Paris Criminal Court on April 13, 2026, found the French cement company Lafarge and eight former officials guilty of financing terrorism and violating international sanctions. The court determined that the company paid millions of euros to armed groups, including the Islamic State, to ensure the continued operation of its cement plant in Syria during the civil war between 2013 and 2014.

The ruling follows a decade-long legal battle initiated by a complaint filed by former Syrian employees of Lafarge, alongside the organizations Sherpa and the European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights (ECCHR). The court found that Lafarge established a system of payments to armed groups to protect its economic interests and keep the plant running despite the risks posed to its staff.

Sentencing and Financial Penalties

The court ordered the maximum fine for Lafarge, which exceeded €1 million. Former chief executive Bruno Lafont was sentenced to six years in prison for financing terrorism and was ordered to begin serving the sentence immediately. His legal representation has indicated an intent to appeal the decision.

Four other former senior executives received prison sentences ranging from three to six years. The court convicted four other individuals: two local security managers and two intermediaries, including Syrian businessman Firas Tlass.

The total amount paid to terrorist groups and intermediaries through the subsidiary Lafarge Cement Syria (LCS) was estimated between €5.5 million and €5.6 million. The court noted that opaque financial arrangements were utilized to conceal the recipients and the nature of these payments.

Judicial Findings and Corporate Liability

Presiding judge Isabelle Prevost-Desprez stated that the financing method was essential for the Islamic State to gain control over Syria’s natural resources. This control, in turn, allowed the organization to fund terrorist acts within the region and those planned for abroad, specifically in Europe.

Lafarge established a genuine commercial partnership with IS

Isabelle Prevost-Desprez, Presiding Judge

The court emphasized that the system of payments was the result of joint decisions made by senior executives at both the Paris headquarters and the Syrian subsidiary. The ruling clarified that these decisions were taken specifically in the interests of the Lafarge group.

Legal representatives for the complainants argued that holding executives individually liable should not allow the multinational corporation to evade its own responsibility for the actions taken to maintain its operations in a conflict zone.

Legal Precedents and Context

This decision is regarded as a historic ruling in France for two primary reasons. It marks the first time a French company has been convicted of financing a terrorist organization, and it involves sums larger than any previous terrorism financing case examined by French courts.

The French conviction follows a previous 2022 case in the United States. In that instance, Lafarge pleaded guilty to conspiring to provide material support to organizations designated as terrorists by the U.S. And agreed to pay a fine of $778 million.

Lafarge is currently part of the Swiss conglomerate Holcim. Despite the convictions of the company and its former leadership, representatives for the Syrian employees noted that access to justice remains incomplete, as those employees are still awaiting compensation.