Cement company Lafarge admits financing IS
French cement company Lafarge has admitted to providing financial support to the militant group IS. The company admitted to the charges in a US court on Tuesday (Oct 18), saying it funded several other groups, including IS. Reuters news.
Along with Al-Qaeda, the Islamic State (IS) is the most violent terrorist organization in the world today. It was initially called the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL). It was established in April 2013. Later its name was changed to IS.
In June 2014, IS announced the so-called caliphate after occupying large areas of Iraq and Syria. declared Raqqa as the capital of Syria. Declares the neighboring Iraqi city of Mosul as the second capital. After that, they killed, oppressed and destroyed the entire region for about three years.
IS was defeated by a multi-pronged attack by 79 countries, including the United States and Russia, as well as other groups, including the Syrian government and rebels. In 2017, IS's self-proclaimed 'caliphate' fell in Iraq and Syria. However, the group is still active in various countries around the world.
According to a Reuters report, Lafarge is the first company in a US court to plead guilty to providing financial support to IS. Apart from this, there is a case against the company in Paris for alleged involvement in crimes against humanity. Allegedly, even after the conflict started in Syria in 2011, Lafarge kept a factory running in the country. However, the company has denied the allegations of inhumanity.
In 2017, Lafarge was sued by several French rights groups. They said that between 2011 and 2015, the French company provided about 12.8 million dollars to various armed groups in Syria, including the terrorist group IS. Then the US government filed a case against the company.
Lafarge Chairman Magali Anderson attended the hearing in Brooklyn Federal Court on Tuesday (October 18). At the time, he admitted to financing IS in court, saying that from August 2013 to November 2014, the company's former executives 'knowingly and voluntarily agreed to participate in the scheme to finance various armed groups in Syria.'
Lafarge chairman added on behalf of the company, 'Those who were responsible for such activities were fired from the company after 2017.' However, Lafarge's partner Holcim has denied IS financing involvement.
In a statement, they said, they are not involved in the financing of IS in any way. According to the statement, Holcim was never involved in any manufacturing activities in Syria or any of Lafarge's activities.
Holcim and Lafarge merged in 2015. Holcim also said financing of IS was concealed from Holcim as well as auditors by Lafarge executives.
