The United States justice department in Brooklyn has fined Lafarge, a French cement company, with $778 million after pleading guilty to making payments to terrorists to retain its operations in Syria.
This is the first time a company pleaded guilty to charges of providing material support to a terrorist organisation.
Lafarge, became part of Swiss-listed Holcim in 2015.
According to Reuters, the company admitted to the act at the federal court in Brooklyn, the United States and agreed to pay $778 million in forfeiture and fines, as part of the plea agreement.
Under the terms of the plea agreement with the justice department, Paris-based Lafarge pleaded guilty to one count of conspiring to provide material support to designated foreign terrorist organisations between August 2013 and October 2014.
In a statement, Breon Peace, a U.S attorney, said Lafarge Cement Syria executives bought materials needed for their cement plant in the Jalabiyeh region of northern Syrian from ISIS-controlled suppliers, and paid monthly “donations” to ISIS and ANF, so that employees, customers and suppliers could cross checkpoints around the plant.
