French magistrates to re-examine Lafarge charge over Syria dealing

A relief logo sits in the wall at the LafargeHolcim Ltd. headquarters in Zug, Switzerland, on Tuesday, Sept. 3, 2019 [Stefan Wermuth/Bloomberg via Getty Images]

France’s highest court on Tuesday dismissed a previous legal ruling that struck out a charge for complicity in crimes against humanity against cement firm Lafarge over its dealings in Syria, saying magistrates should re-examine the allegations, Reuters reported.

Lafarge, which is now part of Swiss-listed Holcim, has admitted following its own internal investigation that its Syrian subsidiary paid armed groups to keep operations running after 2011 in the war-torn country. But it has rejected several charges against it in an investigation by French magistrates.

France’s Supreme Court was ruling on whether a lower court was right or not to strike out a charge of complicity in crimes against humanity against Lafarge in that probe, and said the court should go over its decision again.

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