Two former leaders of Semarelp, a Levallois-Perret company once chaired by Patrick Balkany, have been indicted for abuse of corporate assets, embezzlement of public property and illegal taking of interest, the public prosecutor's office said on Friday 8 January. Nanterre to AFP.
It is within the framework of this investigation that Patrick Balkany, former mayor of Levallois-Perret (Hauts-de-Seine), was placed in police custody on Wednesday.
According to a source close to the case, one of the two former leaders indicted is Jean-Pierre Aubry, former chief of staff of Patrick Balkany, sentenced in 2019 to three years in prison for laundering tax fraud.
This former president of the Levallois basketball club also managed, from 2008 to 2014, Semarelp, a company which acted on behalf of the city of Levallois.
Between 2008 and 2015, the premises of this company, not supposed to be operated, were rented to various companies, the Nanterre prosecutor's office explained to AFP.
The investigation led on November 20, 2019 to the opening of legal information for abuse of corporate assets, concealment, forgery and use of forgery, misappropriation of property from a public deposit, aggravated money laundering between 2008 and 2017.
The daughter of Patrick Balkany, who belonged to companies having benefited from this room, is also targeted by the procedure was still in custody on Friday evening, as well as the son-in-law of the former mayor, according to the source close to the file .
Other people have been heard since Wednesday but the custody has been lifted, said the prosecution.
The investigation was entrusted to the Central Office for the Fight against Corruption and Financial and Tax Offenses (OCLCIFF), said the Nanterre prosecutor's office.
The Balkany couple were convicted on appeal in March for tax evasion and in May for money laundering.
They lodged an appeal against this latest conviction.
Last July, the former mayor of Levallois-Perret was indicted on suspicion of having used municipal agents for personal purposes while he was mayor.
