It is an extremely rare trial for a minister in office: one year after entering the government, Alain Griset is summoned to appear on Tuesday for “incomplete or false declaration of his patrimonial situation” and “of his interests”.
The correctional trial of the Minister of SMEs had been postponed at the request of the person concerned, due to "scheduling problems".
The purpose of this omission was "to prevent the revelation of facts likely to receive the criminal qualification of breach of trust", had estimated the High Authority for the Transparency of Public Life (HATVP), about the origin of the funds. . Tracfin, the anti-money laundering unit of Bercy, where the minister works, in parallel made a report to the Lille prosecutor's office, which had opened an investigation for "breach of trust", still ongoing.
The funds concerned, according to a source familiar with the matter, come from the office of the National Confederation of Crafts, Trades and Services (CNAMS) of the North, which in 2019 had entrusted some 130,000 euros to Alain Griset, its president of then, so that he places them on his PEA.
The sum had been reimbursed, shortly after his entry into the government, by the minister, a craftsman-taxi for more than 30 years until 2016. "I have shown honesty", defended the minister during the revelation of the facts, claiming to have "brought elements of clarification to the High Authority".
The dean of the deputies also summoned for "laundering of tax evasion"
The Paris Criminal Court must also try in September three other political figures suspected of the same omissions of statements also reported by the HATVP: the former strongman of Polynesia, Gaston Flosse, the former boss of Martinique Alfred Marie- Jeanne and the deputy LR Bernard Brochand.
At 83, the dean of the National Assembly and deputy of the Alpes-Maritimes was summoned on September 8 to the criminal court for “laundering of tax fraud” and “incomplete or false declaration” of assets to the High Authority for Transparency of public life (HATVP).
He is accused of not having mentioned, in his statement, accounts at the Swiss bank UBS, credited in total of more than one million euros, which he had held since 1973.
He defended himself by asserting that it was "wages perfectly declared to the tax authorities and paid in 1976 into this account" which operated "in a vacuum until the voluntary repatriation of the sums in 2013". Bernard Brochand, former mayor of Cannes, is also being prosecuted for “laundering tax fraud” between 1996 and 2014, linked to these same Swiss accounts and to the interest they generated.
An appearance on prior acknowledgment of guilt (CRPC), which provided for the conviction of Mr. Brochand to eight months suspended prison sentence and a fine of 200,000 euros, had not been approved in September 2017 by the judge.
A rare decision motivated, according to the magistrate, by a sentence considered "unsuitable in view of the circumstances of the offense and the personality of the author", "representative of the Nation".
The defense of the LR deputy having lodged an appeal in cassation, the trial of Bernard Brochand initially scheduled for May 2019 had been delayed.
Gaston Flosse and Alfred Marie-Jeanne prosecuted
As for Gaston Flosse, he was summoned on September 6 for an “incomplete or false declaration” of his assets and interests, which, according to a source familiar with the matter, would concern shares in an SCI for a significant amount. At 90, the former senator from French Polynesia is experiencing many legal troubles. He was sentenced by the Papeete Court of Appeal to two years in prison, a fine of around 83,000 euros, as well as 5 years of ineligibility for embezzlement of public funds. His lawyer has announced a cassation appeal.
The former deputy and former boss of Martinique the independentist Alfred Marie-Jeanne, 84, must be tried on September 8 for his "incomplete or false declaration" to the HATVP, but also for "refusal to comply with an injunction By the same authority.
The prosecution had opened legal proceedings concerning the three men after reports from the HATVP.
