French company admits it gave financial support to ISIS, agrees to pay over $700 million in fines
CBSN
Washington — French cement company Lafarge has pleaded guilty to one count of providing material support to foreign terrorist organizations, admitting in court papers on Tuesday that it paid individuals designated by the U.S. as terrorists in Syria to secure the continued operation and protection of a cement plant from 2013 to 2014.
The company has agreed to pay $778 million in fines and forfeiture as part of the plea deal.
Beginning in 2010, Lafarge operated the Jalabiyeh Cement Plant in the Jalabiyeh region of Northern Syria. According to the statement of offense, the company admitted that after civil war broke out in the country in 2011, executives and intermediaries devised a scheme to pay members of the the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS) and al-Nusrah Front (ANF) to secure the safe operation of the plant and generate profit.
