Former Lafarge executives released on bail after terror financing convictions

Former senior executives of French cement company Lafarge have been released on bail more than six weeks after being remanded in custody following their conviction in a terrorism financing case, according to BFM.

Bruno Lafont, the company’s former chief executive, and his deputy Christian Herrault were arrested in mid-April after being found guilty and later filed an application with the Paris Court of Appeal seeking release pending further review of the case.

The pair are among nine defendants convicted by a Paris court on 13 April over payments made in 2013–2014 through Lafarge’s Syrian subsidiary, Lafarge Cement Syria (LCS), to armed groups, including jihadist factions, in order to keep the company’s plant in Syria operational.

According to investigators, the payments were made during the Syrian conflict to maintain operations at the cement facility in Jalabiya in northern Syria.

The court ruled that the financial arrangements amounted to support for designated armed groups, while the company argued the payments were necessary to ensure staff safety and continue business operations in a war zone.

By Sabina Mammadli