French Prosecutors Demand Heavy Fines and Prison Sentences in Lafarge Terrorism Financing Trial

On December 16, 2025, the French National Anti-Terrorism Prosecutor's Office presented its demands in the high-profile trial of Lafarge executives accused of financing terrorism in Syria. The prosecutors called for a €1.125 million fine against Lafarge SA, alongside prison sentences of up to eight years for eight former company officials implicated in the case.

The charges center on allegations that Lafarge paid several million euros to jihadist groups including the Islamic State and Jabhat al-Nosra between 2013 and 2014 to keep its cement factory in Jalabiya, northern Syria, operational. Notably, former Lafarge CEO Bruno Lafont faces six years in prison, a €225,000 fine, and a ten-year ban on holding commercial or industrial roles. The severest sentence, eight years imprisonment, is sought for Syrian intermediary Firas Tlass, who remains absent from the trial and is subject to an international arrest warrant.

Additionally, the prosecutor has requested a partial confiscation of Lafarge’s assets amounting to €30 million. This trial underscores serious allegations of corporate complicity in terrorism financing while other foreign companies had withdrawn from the conflict zone.

According to the National Anti-Terrorism Prosecutor, these demands reflect the gravity of maintaining business operations that indirectly supported terrorist organizations. The verdict is awaited as this unprecedented case continues in Paris.