LafargeHolcim and Terrorist Financing

ISIL and Al Nusrah Front

Here at Insight Intelligence, we periodically update older articles with new information (as it becomes available). The case of LafargeHolcim and its payments to ISIL was overdue for an update. Read on to learn more about how the company is being held accountable for its terrorist financing activities.

This analysis was last updated on 29 August 2023

In 2021 and 2022, the cement giant LafargeHolcim was investigated and prosecuted for terrorist financing. Lafarge's subsidiary in Syria is suspected of paying roughly $5 million  in protection money to armed groups in Syria in order to keep the Jalabiya cement plant open, with an estimated $500,000 paid to the Islamic State (ISIL). The company also bought raw materials from individuals connected to ISIL or from individuals in ISIL-controlled territory, potentially further supporting the group in this manner. Lafarge also reportedly paid €220,000 to release staff kidnapped in 2012. Keeping the cement operation open allowed Lafarge to obtain approximately $70.3 million in revenue, and Lafarge also expected ISIL to take action against its competitors by stopping the sale of competing imported Turkish cement or by imposing taxes on competing cement.