Has the French cement giant Lafarge financed Daesh?
The French cement giant Lafarge has financed Daesh and has constantly informed the French intelligence services about its relations with the terrorist organization, according to documents obtained by the Turkish news agency Anadolu. The article by Giuseppe Gagliano
The French cement giant Lafarge has financed Daesh and has constantly informed the French intelligence services about its relations with the terrorist organization, according to documents obtained by the Turkish news agency Anadolu .
Documents belonging to French institutions revealed that one of the world's largest cement giants, French Lafarge, has constantly informed French national, foreign and military intelligence services of his relationship with Daesh, and that the report is aware of the French state. .
It is also noted in the documents that the company had commercial relations with Daesh, which built shelters with its own cement, and it was noted that Daesh also financed itself by selling Lafarge cement. Documents belonging to the French state show that the relationship between the Lafarge company and the French intelligence service began with an e-mail sent by the director of security of the company Jean Claude Veillard to an address of the Ministry of the Interior on January 22, 2014.
The Veillard company official said in his email that Lafarge is still active in Syria and needs to establish relationships with "local actors" to continue his work.
The director of security asked the intelligence service about the risk their executives and headquarters would take, noting that there had been negative press coverage about them.
Responding to Lafarge, the intelligence officer informed him that he would meet with you on a date to be determined to discuss the situation.
After the scandalous discussion of the Lafarge-Terrorism relations in France and the reflection on the matter in court, the intelligence officer with the code name AM 02 released a statement in court on November 18, 2018.
According to the transcript, the officer admitted that Lafarge was his source of information in Syria.
The intelligence officer told the judge how the French secret services took advantage of the Lafarge factory.
In the report, the intelligence officer did not exclude Daesh, stating that during the 2012-2014 period Lafarge sent cement to all armed groups in Syria (including the Nusra Front). "We approached the situation purely opportunistically, taking advantage of Lafarge's continued work," the intelligence agent said in court.
The details of sending cement to Daesh were discussed in correspondence between the security officer of Lafarge Veillard and the intelligence of the French Ministry of the Interior on September 1, 2014.
From his statement, it is clear that the French state was aware of Lafarge's relationship with the terrorist organization at the time.
Interestingly, there were more than 30 meetings between Lafarge and the French domestic, foreign and military intelligence services between 2013 and 2014 alone. Veillard, the company's head of security, testified to police on November 30, 2017, when Lafarge was accused of committing crimes against humanity by funding terrorist organizations.
According to the transcript obtained by Anasolu, Veillard tried to prove that he had informed the French state and intelligence agencies of everything he had done during his deposition.
The annexes to the statement included documents regarding the interview information of the Lafarge Field Safety Officer, the conditions developed in the field and the sensations received.
It is understood that Veillard transferred information on the ground about conflicts and military balance between armed groups to French intelligence.
On one of the notes in question was found a handwritten note by Veillard in October 2013, “Sent to French foreign intelligence (DGSE)“. News published in France in 2016 claimed that Lafarge financed the terrorist organization Daesh by promoting the Syrian civil war.
According to the French press, the company provided materials and fuel from the organization as well as helping Daesh to continue its activities in the Syrian region of Celebiye.
While the company admitted in 2017 that it made payments to armed groups on Syrian soil to keep the factory open, it disputed allegations of "participation in crimes against humanity".
Eight executives of the company, on whom an investigation has been launched, have been accused of financing terrorism and collaborating in crimes against humanity.
The charge of "participation in crimes against humanity" brought against the company in June 2018 was dropped in November 2019.
Non-governmental organizations that reacted to the fall of the prosecution took the matter to the French Supreme Court.
The French Supreme Court should soon reach a decision that will open or close the way for Lafarge's accusation of complicity in crimes against humanity for financing Daesh.
This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/mondo/il-colosso-francese-del-cemento-lafarge-ha-finanziato-daesh/ on Mon, 13 Sep 2021 08:03:25 +0000.