The general prosecutor's office of Versailles has lodged an appeal in cassation concerning the extremely rare annulment of a vast lawsuit for corruption, that of the "
boiler room of Defense
", learned Friday, September 17th AFP from a judicial source.
To read also "Chaufferie de La Défense": decision on appeal Wednesday on the extremely rare cancellation of a trial for corruption
The story of this long-awaited trial, but canceled, begins in Nanterre last January.
Five business leaders, including two now aged 83 and 98, were to appear before the criminal court of Nanterre (Hauts-de-Seine), after twenty years of investigation.
They were accused of having distorted, between 1999 and 2003, the award of the lucrative La Défense heating and air conditioning market, estimated at several hundred million euros.
Cancellation of proceedings
But, an exceptional twist: on the first day of the trial, on January 11, the court had decided to cancel the entire investigation procedure, considering that the right of defendants to be tried within a reasonable time had not been respected and had undermined the defense of two of the main defendants, because of "
disorders related to old age and their state of health
".
Three days later, the prosecution appealed, arguing in particular that there was no "
old age excuse
" to be granted.
To read also "Boiler room of Defense": the Court of Appeal of Versailles confirms the cancellation of the proceedings
This appeal was examined by the Versailles Court of Appeal on April 16, the general prosecutor's office requesting the reversal of the judgment of the Nanterre court as well as the medical expertise of the two oldest defendants, in order to pave the way for a new trial. But the Versailles Court of Appeal confirmed on Wednesday the cancellation of the proceedings and rejected the requests of the general prosecutor, who then appealed to the cassation.
