Cement giant Lafarge financed Daesh, informed French intelligence: Report

If the documents obtained by Anadolu Agency are to be believed, French cement giant Lafarge financed Daesh. It also constantly informed the French intelligence services about its relationship with the terrorist organisation.  

Belonging to French institutions, these documents reveal that one of the world’s largest cement giants, French Lafarge, constantly informed the French domestic, foreign and military intelligence services about its relationship with Daesh. The relationship was also within the knowledge of the French state.   

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In the documents, the company had commercial relations with Daesh, which built shelters for itself with its cement, even after it took over the factory, and it was noted that Daesh also financed itself by selling Lafarge cement.  

In the French state documents obtained by the news agency, it is understood that the relationship between Lafarge company and the French intelligence service started with an e-mail sent by the company’s security director Jean Claude Veillard to an address belonging to the Ministry of Interior intelligence on January 22, 2014.  

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In his e-mail, company official Veillard stated that Lafarge is still active in Syria and needs to establish relations with “local actors” in order to continue its work.   

On September 1, 2014, the details of sending cement to Daesh were discussed in the correspondence between Lafarge Security Manager Veillard and the French Ministry of Interior intelligence. 

Meanwhile, the top court in France on Tuesday overturned a decision by a lower court to dismiss charges brought against Lafarge for complicity in crimes against humanity in Syria's civil war.

The ruling by the Court of Cassation marks a major setback for the cement giant, which is accused of paying nearly 13 millions euros ($15.3 million) to jihadist groups including the Islamic State to keep its cement factory in northern Syria running through the early years of the war.

It has acknowledged that its Syrian subsidiary paid middlemen to negotiate with armed groups to allow the movement of staff and goods inside the war zone.

(With inputs from agencies)