Cement company under investigation for allegedly funding terrorist group

The allegations relate to events that took place before Lafarge merged with Holcim in 2015

The accusations were made about the French firm's operations in Syria (REUTERS)

Cement maker LafargeHolcim has been charged by French prosecutors over allegations it funded armed militant groups in Syria in order to keep a plant there open between 2011 and 2014.

The company, which was formed in 2015 out of a €50bn (£44bn) merger of France’s Lafarge and Switzerland’s Holcim, said on Thursday that it has been placed under investigation by magistrates in Paris. The authorities are looking into claims that the company made payments to so-called Islamic State in order to ensure its Jalabiya plant continued to run while the war went on.

The allegations related to individual wrongdoings which occurred in the former Syria operations of Lafarge Cement Syria, a subsidiary of Lafarge, the group said.

It added that the investigation was expected, given that several of its former managers have previously been placed under judicial investigation.

LafargeHolcim said as soon as it became aware of the “irregularities that occurred in Syria” in 2016, the board of directors commissioned an investigation to be carried out by independent external legal advisers experienced in complex international investigations.

The main findings of this investigation were published in April last year and revealed that the local company “provided funds to third parties to work out arrangements with a number of armed groups, which included sanctioned parties”.

LafargeHolcim chairman Beat Hess said on Thursday: “We truly regret what has happened in the Syria subsidiary and after learning about it took immediate and firm actions. None of the individuals put under investigation is today with the company."

Mr Hess added: “LafargeHolcim was formed in 2015 out of two proud champions, each with a tradition reaching back over 100 years. Prior to the merger the Lafarge Group had a comprehensive compliance program which was breached. We have further strengthened the compliance program and culture since the merger, to make sure that similar mistakes will not happen again.

"I believe our compliance culture is strong through our entire group and with our dedicated employees we will overcome individual wrongdoings.”

Additional reporting by newswires