The Paris-based human rights group, Sherpa, on Tuesday, criticized the agreement for French cement maker, Lafarge to pay $778 million in forfeiture and fines as part of the plea deal for admitting in a U.S. court that it paid terrorist organizations, including the Islamic State so the business could continue operating in Syria.
Sherpa's director of advocacy and litigation, Anna Keifer said the deal "impede(s) access to justice for victims and deprives them of a public trial."
The human rights group filed a complaint against Lafarge in France that prompted a criminal investigation into whether the company was complicit in crimes against humanity.
Lafarge's admission in federal court in Brooklyn marked the first time a business in the US admitted guilt to accusations of giving material support to a terrorist group.
After civil war broke out in Syria, the Syrian unit of Lafarge Cement paid the Islamic State and al Nusra Front the equivalent of almost $5.92 million between 2013 and 2014 via middlemen to permit personnel, clients, and supplies to pass through checkpoints.
As a result, the business which became part of Swiss-listed Holcim (HOLN.S) in 2015 was able to generate $70 million in sales revenue from a plant it ran in northern Syria, according to prosecutors.
"Lafarge made a deal with the devil,"
"This conduct by a Western corporation was appalling and has no precedent or justification, " Breon Peace, the top federal prosecutor in Brooklyn, told reporters following the guilty plea.
US prosecutors said Lafarge eventually evacuated the cement facility in September 2014, at which point, Islamic State took over the remaining cement and sold it for $3.21 million.
Image credit: Reuters.
Testifying in court on Tuesday, Lafarge Chair, Magali Anderson disclosed that former company executives "knowingly and willfully agreed to participate in a conspiracy to make and authorize payments intended for the benefit of various armed groups in Syria" from August 2013 through November 2014.
In a statement, Holcim noted that none of the conduct involved Holcim, "which has never operated in Syria, or any Lafarge operations or employees in the United States, and it is in stark contrast with everything that Holcim stands for."
There was a lack of due diligence.
According to Holcim, former Lafarge officials who participated in the conduct hid it from both Holcim and external auditors.
Without mentioning Holcim, U.S. Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco told reporters that the company that acquired Lafarge did not carry out due diligence on the Syria operations.
In the US, no Lafarge executives were put to trial. However, Monaco noted that several of the executives involved had been detained by French authorities, but she did not name them. Six anonymous Lafarge executives are mentioned in U.S. court documents.
After the merger, Eric Olsen served as the company's first chief executive. However, after the company admitted to funding armed groups in Syria, Olsen resigned in 2017. Olsen said he was unaware of the payments and had no involvement with them at the time.
Lafarge chair, Anderson testified in court that the perpetrators had left the company at least in 2017.
Charges that Lafarge participated in crimes against humanity were refuted by the company. A source close to the French anti-terrorism prosecution office told Reuters that the investigation into activities that were partially conducted in France is still ongoing.
Before the news, the SIX Swiss Exchange halted trading in Holcim shares. After trading resumed, shares increased by as much as 3.2%.
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