The secretary general of the Elysée, implicated for having hidden his family ties with the main shareholder of the MSC freight operator, was also placed under the status of witness assisted by the influence leader by influence by The judges in charge of instructing this file, for which the PNF had requested the abandonment of the prosecution.
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The Minister of Justice, Eric Dupont -Moretti, referred to the Court of Justice of the Republic -he announces to be filled as a cassation -, then the secretary general of the Elysée, Alexis Kohler, indicted: C ‘ is a difficult Monday, judicially, for the entourage of Emmanuel Macron.
If the announcement came on Monday October 3, Mr. Kohler, 49, is actually indicted since September 23, as the financial public prosecutor said, Jean-François Bohnert, in a Communiqué, confirming information from Franceinfo. Justice suspects him of “illegal taking of interest” in relations between the State and the powerful FRET operator Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC), one of the world leaders in the sector.
m. Kohler is also placed under assisted witness status for influence traffic in this same file. He made it known, through his lawyer, M e Eric Deleuze, whom he “challenges with force having committed any crime” for facts “which can go back to more than ten years”, and that he now intends to “demonstrate his innocence”.
a camouflet for the PNF
This decision is also a camouflet for the National Financial Prosecutor’s Office (PNF). In August 2019, he had indeed undoubtedly classified a first investigation, opened following complaints following the Revelations of Mediapart on this case, considering the insufficiently characterized offenses. The Anticor association was then formed a civil party, triggering the opening of a judicial information, on June 23, 2020, entrusted to two investigating judges. The latter decided to overcome the requisitions of the PNF, which had asked for the abandonment of the prosecution.
“This shows that the judges are still independent”, welcomes Elise Van Beneden, the president of Anticor. However, she regrets, “we must arrive at the stage where these judges are captured is proof that the action of associations as anticor is important”.
The bottom of the case is based on the concealment by Mr. Kohler of his personal ties with the Aponte family, the main shareholder of the Maritime Fret operator Italo-Suisse MSC and the main customer of the STX France shipyards, in Saint-Nazaire (Loire-Atlantique). The aponte are the cousins of the mother of the current secretary general of the Elysée.
However, he sat on the Board of Directors of the Grand Maritime Port of Le Havre (GPMH) as a deputy director of the State Participation Agency (2010-2012). He thus approved contracts between a subsidiary of MSC and the GPMH. If he ensures that he has sidelined the negotiations, documents revealed by Mediapart show that he has participated in the meetings, which the preliminary investigation was partly confirmed. He was also able to make decisions in favor of MSC as a member of Pierre Moscovici and Emmanuel Macron’s cabinets at the Ministry of the Economy. So many strategic positions, where he was able to influence the choices of the State.
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