Five men prosecuted for the kidnapping of Bordeaux billionaire Bernard Magrez and his wife, assaulted and robbed in January 2018 at their home in Bordeaux, began to appear Tuesday before the city's criminal court.
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The defendants, aged 29 to 46, including three brothers living in the Paris region, do not recognize the facts. A sixth defendant, aged 48, is being prosecuted for complicity. He accused his three brothers-in-law of having carried out the assault. The trial is scheduled to end on Friday. Much of the first day of the hearing was devoted to the lengthy investigation, in particular the analysis of telephone data from the suspected participants that led to the arrests in 2019.
On January 12, 2018, around 5:00 a.m., five hooded and gloved men entered the home of Mr. Magrez, owner of 47 wine estates around the world including four Bordeaux Grands Crus, after having forced the shutter and the bay window of the living room. Awakened by the noise, the billionaire, now 85 years old, had been "
pinned to the ground
", recalled the court, threatened with a screwdriver, a knife and a revolver, and his wife "
taken from room to room by the attackers, looking for cash
”, convinced of the existence of a safe.
The two spouses were then locked in a room, the wife threatened to be taken to Spain, to have her fingers cut off, if the couple did not say where the money was hidden.
At 6:00 a.m., Ms. Magrez announced the arrival of the cleaning lady.
The five individuals then fled, after having securely tied the two victims with scarves, and gagged the wife.
The thieves left with a total booty estimated at 100,000 euros (500 euros in cash, a collection of luxury watches, cufflinks, three bank cards and jewelry).
They also left with the billionaire's Land Rover, abandoned an hour later.