Cement company Lafarge penalized $778M US for sending money to terrorist groups in Syria | CBC News

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French cement company Lafarge pleaded guilty on Tuesday to paying millions of dollars to the Islamic State group so that a plant in Syria could remain open. Company will pay $778 million US in penalties.

"There is simply no justification for a multinational corporation authorizing payments to designated terrorist organization," he added.

The charges, for breaching U.S. export control laws and existing sanctions for doing business in Syria, were announced by federal prosecutors in New York City and by senior Justice Department leaders from Washington.The allegations involve conduct that was earlier investigated by authorities in France. Lafarge had previously acknowledged funnelling money to Syrian armed organizations in 2013 and 2014 to guarantee safe passage for employees and supply its plant.

In 2014, the company was handed preliminary charges, including financing a terrorist enterprise and complicity in crimes against humanity.It's been seven years since British teen Shamima Begum, then 15 years old, entered Syria with two school friends to join ISIS. One of Begum's friends has since gone missing, and the other was reportedly killed in an airstrike on Raqqa.

A French court later quashed the charges involving crimes against humanity but said other charges would be considered over payments made to armed forces in Syria. That ruling was later overturned by France's supreme court, which ordered a retrial in September 2021., Holcim said that when it learned of the allegations from the news media in 2016, it voluntarily conducted an investigation and disclosed the findings publicly.

"None of the conduct involved Holcim, which has never operated in Syria, or any Lafarge operations or employees in the United States, and it is in stark contrast with everything that Holcim stands for," the company said.

 

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Update...Liberals give $800 million to Lafarge to help fight global warming.

Fair enough

Too big to be charged with treason.

They should have paid more, this is horrible

fabienmajor C'est pas lié à Desmarais ça, Lafarge?🤔

fabienmajor Paul Desmarais et sa famille étaient et sont actionnaires!

Cut off any all government benefits tax brakes anything to do with this company penilze to full extent as we all know money will go to terrorists JustinTrudeau CanadianPM GROW SOME BALLS

Cement Shoes would have been cheaper

Well when you have a leader that does the same type of things why not!

Picture: the economy crashes and in 2 years PP is PM. He says unemployment is too high & slashes benefits. He then cuts all funding to CBC. He raises taxes on bottom & slashes top. You show up to protest, many others do to, and you're told there are too many of you & it's a crime

LaFarge! Go figure

Unbelievable

Corporations are just organized crime.

Another Fine Quebec company. Unbelievable!!!!

Oh, oh, Minister Lemetti, watch your back you’re doomed if you do the right thing and fired if you do what PMJT will ask you to do to protect another QB co and all those jobs

Corruption at its best. Who do they pay the penalty money to and what will be done with it?

European and American companies do this across the African continent and it keeps these countries unstable. But western governments are not fining these companies in Africa's case.

So more then just shitty cement?

$6 Million? I thought it would be $60MM.

That is insane. A small business that violates laws would be shut down.. no license.. sent to prison even ... They get a fine? For supporting a terrorist organization?

Al-Nusra? Ahem.

It's companies like this that cause unrest in the world all because of profits. It's so far gone that it'll never stop.

Shout out Milton

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