Französische Firma Lafarge wegen Unterstützung von IS verurteilt
French cement maker Lafarge has pleaded guilty in US court to charges of conspiring to provide material support for terrorism by making payments to the Islamic State (IS) group and other US-designated "terrorist groups", so the company could keep operating in Syria.
The admission was the first time a company has admitted guilt in the US to charges of providing material support to a terrorist organisation. As a part of a plea deal, Lafarge agreed to pay $778m in forfeiture and fines.
US officials say that from approximately May 2010 to September 2014, Lafarge, through its now-defunct subsidiary Lafarge Cement Syria, operated a cement plant in northern Syria that was built at a cost of approximately $680m
Syria: 50 detained Islamic State fighters returned to Iraq
After the civil war broke out in 2011, fighting erupted across the country between armed rebel groups and the Syrian government, and the IS group took control of swathes of Syria.
"Many companies made the right choice - the only lawful choice: to leave the region rather than join hands with the terrorists," US Deputy Attorney-General Lisa Monaco said in a news conference on Tuesday.
"Lafarge made a different decision: to go into business with ISIS and al-Nusra - two of the world's most notorious and brutal terrorist organisations," she said, using another acronym for the IS group.