Lafarge to Pay Nearly $800 Million After DOJ Inquiry into Lafarge's Syria Activities

   By Ed Frankl 
 

Holcim Ltd. said Tuesday that its France-based subsidiary Lafarge SA has agreed to pay a penalty of nearly $800 million and plead guilty to giving material support to Islamic State after a Justice Department inquiry into its activities in Syria.

The Swiss cement company's unit will pay a penalty of $777.8 million and plead guilty to one count of conspiring to provide material support to designated foreign terrorist organizations in Syria, it said in a statement.

The period under the plea agreement covers between August 2013 and October 2014, by which time Lafarge's defunct subsidiary Lafarge Cement Syria had ceased operations in the country, Holcim said.

The investigation was related to the conduct of certain former executives during the Syrian civil war, before Holcim acquired Lafarge in 2015, the Zug-based company said.

None of the conduct involved Holcim, which has never operated in Syria, or any Lafarge operations or employees in the U.S., the company added. None of the executives who were involved in the conduct are with Lafarge or any affiliated entities today, it said.

"Lafarge SA and LCS have accepted responsibility for the actions of the individual executives involved, whose behavior was in flagrant violation of Lafarge's Code of Conduct," Lafarge said in a statement.

"We deeply regret that this conduct occurred and have worked with the U.S. Department of Justice to resolve this matter," it added.

Lafarge said it continues to cooperate fully with the French authorities in their own investigation into its conduct in Syria, and will defend itself against any judicial actions that it regards as unjustified.

Write to Ed Frankl at edward.frankl@dowjones.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

October 18, 2022 11:31 ET (15:31 GMT)

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