Millions to jihadists Lafarge found guilty in France for terror financing in Syria
A Paris court has found the cement company Lafarge and several former executives guilty of terror financing. They are alleged to have paid millions to jihadists during the Syrian war in order to keep a factory running
13.04.2026, 13:20
13.04.2026, 13:23
SDA
The French cement manufacturer Lafarge, which belongs to the Swiss company Holcim, and eight former executives were found guilty of terror financing in 2013 and 2014 by the Paris Criminal Court on Monday. They are alleged to have paid groups of jihadists to keep a factory in operation in the middle of the Syrian civil war.
According to the court's verdict, the company paid a total of almost 5.6 million euros to three jihadist groups, including the Islamic State (IS). The court emphasized that this enabled the groups to "prepare terrorist attacks", including the attacks in France in January 2015.
"This type of financing of terrorist organizations, in particular IS, was crucial to the terrorist group's control of natural resources in Syria," explained the president of the court, Isabelle Prévost-Desprez. The money had enabled the terrorist group to finance terrorist acts in the region and abroad, particularly in Europe.
