French cement giant Lafarge was charged Thursday with complicity in crimes against humanity and financing terrorists for paying millions to jihadists, including the Islamic State group, to keep a factory open in war-torn Syria.
The company, whose Syrian subsidiary paid the armed groups through middlemen, has also been charged with endangering the lives of former employees at the cement plant in Jalabiya, northern Syria.
Lafarge, which has since merged with Swiss firm Holcim, immediately said it would appeal the charges.
French rights group Sherpa, one of the plaintiffs in the case, said it was the first time that a parent company anywhere in the world had been charged with complicity in crimes against humanity.
The allegations are the most serious against a French company in years.
A panel of three judges in Paris ordered Lafarge to hand over 30 million euros ($35 million) to authorities as a security deposit ahead of the trial.
Eight former executives, including ex-CEO Bruno Laffont, have already been charged with financing a terrorist group and/or endangering the lives of others over Lafarge's activities in Syria between 2011 and 2015.