They are experienced entrepreneurs or criminals.
These three men, aged 38, 33 and 52, are the main accomplices of the ripou 31-year-old Parisian policeman, who is at the heart of an extraordinary car traffic recently dismantled by investigators from the OCLCO (Office central of the fight against organized crime) and the IGPN (General Inspectorate of the National Police).
These three men are now behind bars.
They were all three refused, at the end of December, their release by the chamber of instruction of Paris.
In this case, eleven suspects were indicted in early December by a Parisian judge for "criminal conspiracy, organized gang theft, money laundering, non-justification of resources and active corruption" for facts that took place in Ile-de -France but also throughout France between 2017 and 2020.
120 vehicles sold in France and Belgium
The criminals' method consisted, when a stolen car was found by the police, in modifying, with the help of a peacekeeper, the file of stolen objects and vehicles (FOVeS).
Then the cars found were stolen instead of being returned to their rightful owner.
Secondly, the cars were re-registered and legally resold to bona fide buyers by complicit automotive professionals.
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The damage caused by this exceptionally large fraud exceeds three million euros and concerns at least 120 often top-of-the-range vehicles sold in Belgium and France.
Alongside the police officer, stationed in two Parisian police stations, including that of the twentieth arrondissement, Mohamed, 33, is a central character in this story.
“It is he who makes the link between all the people involved in this file.
It is he again who is in contact with the police and who moves the cars from the police station to parking lots, ”said a source close to the case.
The thirty-something has already been convicted eleven times, in particular for theft in an organized gang which makes him a repeat offender.
His last release from detention was in August 2019. He officially lives with his parents.
The police discovered in this unemployed man a sum of 198,000 euros in cash and luxury leather goods.
According to our information, during his custody, he did not really speak and has not yet been interviewed by the investigating judge in charge of this case.
“We are at the start of the procedure,” explains his counsel Gustave Charvet.
And it is still a question of establishing the role of each other.
"
Below Mohamed, Francis and Samir are his subordinates.
According to the investigation, Samir was in charge of re-registering the stolen cars and he is also suspected of laundering through two companies.
The investigations focus on an account of the online bank N26, through which he made transfers to the officials involved.
This 38-year-old man has already been sentenced five times for theft and is still under indictment and still under judicial supervision, for a forgery case, opened in 2016.
70,000 euros hidden in the dishwasher
During the search at his home, the police got their hands on 70,000 euros hidden in ... his dishwasher at his home in Aulnay-sous-Bois (Seine-Saint-Denis).
"A new way to get started in money laundering", quips a magistrate.
During the hearings, he says he was fooled by Mohamed, the only person he seemed to know in this case.
The prosecution notes that his important lifestyle cannot be explained by his legal activities in the automobile.
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His counsel, Me Thomas Bidnic, wishes to put this profile of an experienced delinquent described in the procedure into perspective before asserting that Samir "changed the registration cards of the cars but he was unaware that they were stolen".
As for the 70,000 euros, it would be money that was intended to pay the costs of the prefecture.
“My job is to do gray cards.
I was not aware of this.
I'm ashamed, ”Samir said.
Francis, glasses and gray hair, entrepreneur from Seine-Saint-Denis, also claims his innocence.
“I would like to go back to my family and run my businesses,” he breathes.
The 50-year-old employs 22 people in two courier companies.
He is accused of having given in to money laundering as the de facto manager of a road transport company installed on Boulevard Macdonald in Paris (19th century).
"He was in contact with Mohamed who was his sponsor," says a source familiar with the matter.
The fifty-year-old admitted having made transfers on the order of the real boss of this company in the direction of Mohamed.
The corrupt police officer under judicial supervision
The search carried out at his home made it possible to get hold of five bank cards, one of which was in the name of the Parisian company involved.
But also on seven luxury watches and car keys.
Francis disputes being the manager of this transport company.
His advice says he does not do money laundering.
"He does not have the profile of a delinquent, he is a business manager who needs to get back to his business," adds his lawyer who recalls that his client is in detention while eight other people, including the police officer, were released.
The corrupt policeman is the centerpiece of this case.
"He is not the boss of the network but he is the man without whom nothing is possible", sums up a source.
He was released under judicial supervision with a ban on practicing the profession of police officer.
The Paris public prosecutor's office has also appealed against this decision and the deposed official must appear in a few days before the magistrates of the Paris investigative chamber, who will decide whether or not to return to prison.
