French firm Lafarge pleads guilty to 'IS' bribe charges

French cement company Lafarge SA on Tuesday pleaded guilty to US charges of paying bribes to the so-called "Islamic State" ("IS") and other terror groups.

The firm admitted to paying material support to "IS" from August 2013 to October 2014 so that its plant in Syria can remain open. The payments occurred as the terrorist organization killed and tortured prisoners, including several westerners.

"In the midst of a civil war, Lafarge made the unthinkable choice to put money into the hands of ISIS, one of the world's most barbaric terrorist organizations, so that it could continue selling cement," US Justice Department prosecutor Breon Peace said. 

As part of its guilty plea, the company agreed to pay $777.8 million (€‎792 million) in fines and forfeitures.

Lafarge's operations in Syria

Lafarge invested €680 million in the construction of its plant in Syria, which was completed in 2010, just a year before the outbreak of the ongoing war that is estimated to have killed more than half a million people.

In a statement, LaFarge SA and its defunct branch Lafarge Cement Syria "accepted responsibility for the actions of the individual executives involved, whose behavior was in flagrant violation Lafarge's Code of Conduct. We deeply regret that this conduct occurred and have worked with the US Department of Justice to resolve this matter."

Lafarge, which joined Swiss company in Holcim in 2015, is also facing criminal charges in France for being complicit in crimes against humanity. Lafarge has denied those accusations.

Lafarge has said it "continues to cooperate fully with the French judicial authorities" on the matter.

wd/wmr (Reuters, AFP)