...Lafarge is accused of paying the Islamic State group and other militants through a middleman between 2013 and 2014 so that the company's factory in Jalabiya, northern Syria, could continue to operate despite the war.

...[On December 8th, the] chief executive from 2007 to 2015, and the group's former Syria chief Christian Herrault, appeared in court and were charged with "financing a terrorist organisation and "endangering the lives of others" and remanded in custody. On [December 7th, the former] CEO... was charged with the same crimes...The three men have been in detention since Wednesday.

Three former officials at the Jalabiya factory were charged in the case last week.

...Lafarge's Syrian subsidiary Lafarge Cement Syria (LCS) paid out some $5.6 million (4.7 million euros) between July 2012 and September 2014...Of this, more than half a million dollars went to IS...

...Investigators are also trying to determine whether Lafarge failed to ensure the security of its Syrian staff who stayed behind after management left the country in the summer of 2012.