A French cement company has pleaded guilty to paying millions of dollars to the Islamic State and the Nusra Front. Under an agreement with the DOJ, the company will pay $778 million in penalties.
Lafarge SA paid a nearly $800 million fine over its payments to terrorist groups in Syria in order to keep its cement plant in Jalabiya, northern Syria, working.Delil Souleman /AFP via Getty Images
"In its pursuit of profits, Lafarge and its top executives not only broke the law — they helped finance a violent reign of terror that ISIS and al-Nusrah imposed on the people of Syria," Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco said at a news conference in New York.
"Many companies made the right choice — the only lawful choice: to leave the region rather than join hands with the terrorists," Monaco said."Lafarge made a different decision: to go into business with ISIS and al-Nusra — two of the world's most notorious and brutal terrorist organizations." Under the terms of the plea agreement with the Justice Department, Paris-based Lafarge pleaded guilty to one count of conspiring to provide material support to designated foreign terrorist organizations between August 2013 and October 2014.
Lafarge was acquired by the Switzerland-based Holcim in 2015. Court papers says Lafarge executives concealed the Syria activities from Holcim as well as external auditors.
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