Families of US soldiers killed by IS sue French firm Lafarge over bribes paid

The families of US soldiers killed by the Islamic State group (IS) are suing French cement giant Lafarge, who earlier this year pleaded guilty to paying bribes to both IS and Al-Nusra Front to keep a cement factory running during the Syrian Civil war.

In October this year, the French conglomerate was ordered to pay a hefty fine of $778 million by a US court, marking the first time the US government has ever prosecuted a corporation for providing material that supports terrorism.

The bereaved families, in their lawsuit, said that the "economic self-interest" of Lafarge enabled the IS group's killing of innocent civilians, including Americans, according to ABC News.

The company, founded and headquartered in France, and its Syrian subsidiary, Lafarge Cement Syria, are accused of having made pacts with armed groups to keep one of its cement factories open and operating between 2012 and 2014 in Jalabiya, northeast Syria.

The defendants were aware the "material support" paid to the terror groups "would be used to commit acts of international terrorism", the lawsuit said.

The lawsuit, put forward by the families of three soldiers who were killed by the terrorist group, alleges that Lafarge’s payments to IS provided them with "seed capital" to transform into what they described as a "brutal terrorist behemoth" with an intent to "kill Americans".

The three US servicemen died in attacks blamed on IS. Navy offices Jason Finan and Scott Cooper Dayton were both killed by IS-planted IEDs in 2016, in Iraq and Syria.

Meanwhile, former marine David Berry was killed an attack on the Corinthia Hotel in Libya in 2015.

"Defendants aided and abetted ISIS's and ANF's acts of international terrorism by knowingly providing substantial assistance, including by making cash and covert payments through foreign shell companies and intermediaries to, purchasing raw material from, and making anti-competitive agreements with, the foreign terrorist organisations, and by failing to safely shut down and evacuate the Cement Plant", the families’ lawsuit said.

"Defendants knew that this material support was paid to foreign terrorist organizations and would be used to commit acts of international terrorism," it added.

According to Lee Wolosky, a partner at Jenner and Block LLP, more families are expected to join the lawsuit "soon", reported ABC.

In 2016, a complaint filed by former employees and two NGOS filed a complaint against the conglomerate for complicity in crimes against humanity, but Lafarge successfully appealed the charge in 2019.

In September 2021, however, France’s highest court ordered a retrial, which saw their charges upheld earlier this year, as well as the almost-$800 million fine ordered.