Nine years have passed since the complaint at the origin of the trial which opens this Monday, March 22 before the Criminal Court of Versailles.
On February 29, 2012, the Departmental Union of Confederate Trade Unions Force Ouvrière de la Seine-Saint-Denis (UD FO 93) filed a complaint against the company Meubles Ikea France SAS.
The union organization denounces an
“organized espionage system”
which would target employees and customers, using information from administrative and judicial files.
The information was quickly relayed in the press and Ikea found itself under the fire of the scandal.
Read also: Ikea would have spied on its employees and customers
The Versailles prosecutor first opened a preliminary investigation, then a judicial investigation, on the basis of
“extremely
meaningful
”
emails
, said Mounir Bourhaba, lawyer for UD FO 93 and a dozen other civil parties.
In these discussions, the director of the “risk management” department asked a private investigator for
“feedback”
on the
“record”
of certain employees or candidates for employment.
"Please tell me if you have a history of this person a priori already known for theft,"
wrote for example Jean-François P. to Jean-Pierre F., who then contacted police contacts to obtain the requested information.
Who knew?
According to Jean-François P., it is the management of the French subsidiary of the Swedish giant which had
"set up"
this
"system"
, which it
"endorsed"
.
What the leaders of the company deny.
Darius R., former administrative and financial director, assures to have
"never heard of this research of antecedents"
;
Jean-Louis B., managing director until the end of 2009, denies having asked Jean-François P.
"to carry out systematic searches for information";
Stefan V., his successor until 2015, points to an initiative from the director of the “risk management” department and asserts that he was not informed.
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“It is impossible that the leaders did not know anything. If only because this research had become almost industrial. They ended up affecting hundreds of employees, which resulted in very large invoices, cumulatively representing between 500,000 and 600,000 euros! ”
, declares Me David Verdier, advising some forty employees of the Rouen store.
"This modus operandi could all the less go unnoticed as at Ikea the rule of 'four eyes' was practiced, which implies that two members of the management must sign invoices above a certain amount."
"Coping"
Between January 2013 and August 2017, fifteen natural persons - directors and employees of Ikea, police officers, private investigators - as well as the company Ikea France, as a legal person, were indicted and for the most part placed under judicial supervision. .
On April 30, 2020, they are referred to the criminal court for facts ranging from 2009 to 2012. This does not fail to intrigue some players in the case.
"Why were prosecutions limited to three years when we could have extended prosecutions to previous years?"
, asks Me Bourhaba.
"The prosecution considered that the facts prior to 2009 were prescribed"
, answers Me Emmanuel Daoud, the lawyer of Ikea France.
The reasons for which these sixteen people are judged from March 22 to April 2 are not all the same: “violation of professional secrecy”, “collection of personal data by fraudulent, unfair or unlawful means”, “misappropriation of the purpose of the processing of personal data "," voluntary illegal disclosure of harmful personal data "," habitual concealment of crimes "...
" On a strictly legal level, we do not speak of espionage "
, would like to clarify Me Daoud.
"In common language, we would talk more about illegal filing, coping,"
adds Me Bourhaba
.
Heavy fines incurred
The defendants face one to ten years' imprisonment, and a fine of up to 375,000 euros - with the exception of Ikea France, which risks a fine of up to 3.75 million euros.
All will be heard by the court during the first days of the hearing.
The defenders of Jean-François P., Jean-Louis B. and Stefan V. informed
Le Figaro
that their clients
“reserved their explanations for the court”
.
For its part, through the voice of Me Daoud, Ikea France recognizes that
"there have obviously been malfunctions"
, as a result of which the company has
"publicly apologized"
and launched
"a plan to 'massive action ",
but ensures that
" contrary to what some like to repeat over and over, there was no generalized espionage system within the company during the prevention period "
.
Read also: Spying on employees: Ikea wants to improve its image
74 civil parties, including several unions, will face these defendants.
"My clients, shocked by this intrusion into their privacy, want to be sure that this system of employee coping - in the proper sense, moreover, since unscrupulous police officers have collaborated in illegal investigations - will not happen again"
, underlines Me Verdier. .
His colleague Me Bourhaba hopes for his part that this trial which promises to be very followed
"will serve as a warning to other companies"
which could be tempted to give in to the same
"unacceptable practices"
.
