Lafarge convicted of financing terrorism in Syria: A historic ruling in the fight for corporate accountability
13.04.2026
Lafarge and four former senior executives were found guilty of financing terrorism and violating international sanctions by the Paris Criminal Court. Ten years after Sherpa, ECCHR, and former Syrian employees of Lafarge filed a complaint, this ruling marks a major turning point in the fight for corporate accountability. However, access to justice has once again been denied to the Syrian employees, who are still awaiting compensation.
Lafarge, along with four former executives, was found guilty of financing terrorist groups – notably the Islamic State – totaling €5.5 million between 2013 and 2014 to keep its cement plant in Syria operational amidst the civil war, despite the risks to its employees. The court ordered the maximum fine for the company and prison sentences ranging from three to six years for the former executives.
Four other individuals were also convicted: two local security managers and two intermediaries, including Syrian businessman Firas Tlass.
This decision is historic in two ways: it is the first time a French company has been convicted of financing a terrorist organization. Furthermore, no other terrorism financing case examined by French courts had previously involved such large sums.
A landmark ruling for corporate accountability
The Paris Criminal Court found that Lafarge had established a system of payments to armed groups to keep its Syrian plant running and protect its economic interests. Opaque financial arrangements were used to conceal these payments and their recipients.
The court recognized that it was the joint decisions of senior executives at the Paris headquarters and the Syrian subsidiary that made this system possible – and that those decisions were taken in the interests of the Lafarge group. Holding executives individually liable must not allow the multinational itself to evade responsibility.
Lafarge’s conviction for financing terrorism through its Syrian subsidiary will set a legal precedent. French parent companies can no longer hide behind their foreign subsidiaries to evade responsibility. This is a major victory in the fight against impunity for multinationals involved in serious human rights violations.
"Lafarge was aware of what was happening to us – the checkpoints, the threats, the daily fear – but chose to risk the lives of its employees for profit. We, as former Lafarge employees who testified and on behalf of a large number of former colleagues, each have a different story of suffering, but we are united in our trust in the justice system of France and the certainty that what we endured will not go unpunished. We may feel disappointed now, but after ten years, and although we are still without compensation or recognition of our suffering, we will not give up and will continue to demand our rights and the justice we deserve", said former Lafarge employees, present during the trial.
Compensation remains out of reach for former Lafarge employees
More than 190 former Syrian employees of Lafarge joined the case as civil parties. About ten of them testified with “strength, precision, dignity and humanity” during the trial, in the court’s own words. They recounted their daily lives marked by the threat of dismissal, kidnappings, crossing areas under sniper fire and through checkpoints, bombings, and the constant risk of reprisals from armed groups.
However, the court ruled that they were not entitled to compensation, finding that individuals cannot qualify as victims of terrorism financing. More than a decade after the events, the former Syrian employees will therefore leave court empty-handed, forced to wait even longer for justice to be served. The numerous obstacles to obtaining redress hinder effective access to justice for those harmed by the conduct of multinational corporations.
Complicity in crimes against humanity: will another trial take place?
The period during which Lafarge financed the Islamic State coincides with the atrocities committed against the Syrian population and the onset of the Yazidi genocide. Lafarge remains under investigation for complicity in crimes against humanity – a charge that goes beyond financing terrorism, as it concerns the fueling of the gravest crimes under international law. After almost 8 years of judicial inquiry, it is crucial that this case be brought before a court. As civil parties in this case, Sherpa and ECCHR will continue to support former Syrian employees and demand that justice be served.
The crucial role of civil society
As countervailing powers, civil society organizations and investigative journalists are essential in the fight against corporate crime. This trial is the result of the complaint filed in 2016 by Sherpa and ECCHR, alongside former Lafarge employees, followed by a decade of advocacy work and judicial investigations.
This case serves as a stark reminder that justice is a cornerstone of the rule of law and a crucial lever in the fight for corporate accountability. It is essential that the judiciary remain independent and be adequately resourced when confronting actors with considerable financial means and outsized media and political influence.
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