The trial of cement manufacturer Lafarge, accused of paying money to the Islamic State and other jihadists to secure its operations in Syria, has begun in the Paris Criminal Court.
Previously, a French company pleaded guilty in the U.S. to providing material support to terrorists and paid a fine of $778 million. This was the first case in which such charges were brought against a corporation.
"This is a historic case: an international company, including its directors, will be tried for financing terrorism for the first time," said Anna Kiefer, a representative of the Sherpa association, a civil party in the process that filed a complaint against Lafarge in 2016.
In the French trial, which will last from November 4 to December 16, Lafarge, now a subsidiary of the Swiss group Holcim, is accused of paying millions of dollars in 2013-2014 to maintain its cement plant in Syria.
The money was likely paid to the Islamic State (ISIS) and the then-affiliated Al-Qaeda branch in Syria, Jabhat al-Nusra.
The defendants include Lafarge, its former CEO Bruno Lafont, five former employees from the operations and security departments, and two Syrian intermediaries. They are accused of financing terrorism and violating international sanctions.
Lafarge could face a fine of up to $1.2 million if found guilty of financing terrorism, and a much larger fine if it is determined that it violated sanctions.
While other multinational corporations left Syria in 2012, Lafarge only evacuated its foreign employees, thus maintaining the employment of local workers until September 2014, when ISIS seized the plant.
The Holcim company, which acquired Lafarge in 2015, stated that it was unaware of the business dealings in Syria.
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