French court shits focus on firm interaction with armed groups in Syria

(MENAFN) A recent session in a Paris courtroom turned its attention to how Lafarge allegedly interacted with armed groups in Syria while keeping its cement plant running during 2013 and 2014. The company, along with eight former senior officials, is being prosecuted on accusations of financing terrorism during the country’s civil conflict, with the firm itself facing charges as a corporate entity.

According to accounts from the hearing, judges examined claims of “negotiations” carried out between Lafarge’s Syrian branch and several militant factions, among them ISIS (Daesh). Former CEO Bruno Lafont told the court he would have closed operations sooner had he been aware of these dealings, stating, “Until Aug. 27, 2014, I never suspected that payments had been made to terrorist organizations.”

Bruno Pescheux, who led Lafarge Cement Syria (LCS) from 2008 to 2014 and is also standing trial, said his priority at the time was keeping transportation routes open for company vehicles. He explained, “These payments (made to terrorist organizations) were intended to allow our employees to move around freely.”

Pescheux also confirmed that Syrian intermediary Firas Tlass held repeated discussions with ISIS members on behalf of the company. When asked about a financial breakdown contained in an email, he noted, “I had no means to verify whether the groups listed actually received the amounts indicated.”

Another defendant, Jordanian national Ahmad Al Jaloudi, who served as Lafarge’s security manager in Syria, described the role of a regional representative tied to Tlass, stating: “(Bashir Hadad, Tlass’s representative in the region) was my contact for resolving all my problems, including with Daesh.”

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