Lafarge, a French cement manufacturer, gave millions of dollars in protection money to jihadist organisations such as the Islamic State (IS) to maintain operations in Syria during the civil war.
The Paris court found eight former Lafarge employees, including former CEO Bruno Lafont, guilty of financing terrorism. The court sentenced Lafont to six years in prison on Monday.
The Paris court ruled that Lafarge paid groups $6.5 million (€5.59 million; £4.83 million) between 2013 and 2014 to keep its plant in northern Syria operational. 
Judge Isabelle Prevost-Desprez stated that such payments enabled proscribed organisations to gain control of the country’s natural resources and finance attacks in the Middle East and Europe.
“The court understands that Lafarge funded a terrorist organization solely to keep the Syrian plant operational for economic reasons. Lafarge made payments to terrorist organisations to continue its operations,” Prevost-Desprez stated.
According to BBC, Lafarge acknowledged the court’s decision, which concerns a legacy matter involving conduct that occurred more than a decade ago and violated Lafarge’s code of conduct. The company described the decision as an important milestone in its efforts to address the issue responsibly.
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Lafarge purchased the factory in Jalabiya, northern Syria, in 2008 for $680 million and began operations in 2010, months before the civil war started in 2011.
Prosecutors stated that Lafarge housed employees in the nearby town of Manbij and required them to cross the Euphrates River to reach the plant.
Prosecutors also stated that Lafarge made payments between 2013 and September 2014, including €800,000 for safe passage and €1.6 million to purchase source materials from IS-controlled quarries.
Judges stated that Lafarge also paid money to the Nusra Front, which had links to al-Qaeda and remained proscribed by the EU and other organisations.
The court sentenced former deputy managing director Christian Herrault to five years in prison, while the court sentenced Firas Tlass, a Syrian ex-staff member who made payments to jihadist groups, to seven years in absentia.
Lafarge, now owned by Swiss conglomerate Holcim, must pay a fine of more than €1 million ($1.3 million).
Authorities have launched a separate investigation into complicity in crimes against humanity.
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