Holcim said it supports the agreement reached by Lafarge SA with the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) to resolve the DOJ’s inquiry into Lafarge SA and its long-defunct subsidiary Lafarge Cement Syria (LCS) related to the legacy conduct of certain former executives during the Syrian civil war, before Holcim acquired Lafarge SA.
Under the terms of the resolution, Lafarge SA and LCS will pay a financial penalty of $777.78 million and have agreed to plead guilty to one count of conspiring to provide material support to designated foreign terrorist organizations in Syria between August 2013 and October 2014, by which time LCS had ceased operations in the country.
None of the conduct involved Holcim, which has never operated in Syria, or any Lafarge operations or employees in the United States, and it is in stark contrast with everything that Holcim stands for. The DOJ noted that former Lafarge SA and LCS executives involved in the conduct concealed it from Holcim before and after Holcim acquired Lafarge SA, as well as from external auditors.
When Holcim learned of the allegations from media reports in 2016, Holcim proactively and voluntarily conducted an extensive investigation, led by a major U.S. law firm and overseen by the board of directors. It publicly disclosed the principal investigative findings in 2017 and separated from former Lafarge SA and LCS executives who were involved in these events.
The DOJ noted that Holcim has effective compliance and risk management controls and functions in place to detect and prevent any similar potential conduct. As a result, the DOJ determined that the appointment of an independent compliance monitor is not necessary.
Holcim said it operates to the highest ethical standards in strict compliance with the laws of all its jurisdictions. The resolution reaffirms Holcim’s commitment to conducting all its business with utmost integrity.