A preliminary criminal investigation was opened to "
verify the operating conditions
" of the Social Dialogue Observatory (ODS) and the association's payments to the former president of the Loir-et-Cher departmental council Nicolas Perruchot, a announced Tuesday the public prosecutor of Blois Frédéric Chevallier.
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The opening of this procedure follows an investigation by France Televisions and the investigation unit of Radio France published on July 9, said the prosecution.
In this article published on the sites of France 3 and France Bleu, the two public service entities state that “
transfers of several thousand euros were made from the ODS account to that of Nicolas Perruchot between 2018 and mid -2019
”.
Cash advances repaid
The ODS, created in March 2018, aims to “
carry out studies and research on union and political life in complete independence;
feed the intellectual debate through its debates and its work;
manage the resources linked to patronage, sponsorship or various donations
, ”according to his statement to the prefecture.
According to Mr. Perruchot's lawyer, Me Jean-Yves Leterme, cited in the investigation, the sums received by his client "
correspond to cash advances intended to finance the creation of the blog and the website
" of the association .
A project abandoned by the former member of Loir-et-Cher.
The former mayor of Blois has since repaid his sums, according to his advice.
The investigation was entrusted to the PJ of Tours.