One of the creators of the music group Kassav', Pierre-Edouard Décimus, was sentenced on Tuesday, November 15 by the Pointe-à-Pitre criminal court to an eight-month suspended prison sentence for breach of trust in the context of a concert organized for the 40th anniversary of the West Indian group.
Pierre-Edouard Décimus was also fined 15,000 euros while another defendant, Rudy Vardarassian, a territorial civil servant prosecuted for illegal taking of interest by a public service official, was sentenced to eight months' imprisonment with suspended sentence and a fine of 7,500 euros.
Investigation of the financial conditions of the organization of a concert
"
The court followed the requisitions of the prosecution
," said the public prosecutor of Pointe-à-Pitre to AFP.
The two men were implicated in the context of an investigation into the financial conditions of the organization of a concert for the 40th anniversary of the famous group that invented zouk.
The concert took place in December 2019 in the town of Baie-Mahault and was subsidized in part by the regional tourism body of Guadeloupe.
A sum of 100,000 euros had been paid to the Sign'Alizé association, chaired by Pierre-Edouard Décimus.
Rudy Vardarassian was at the time of the events, "
in charge of special operations for the agglomeration community of Cap Excellence
" (which includes the town of Baie-Mahault in its municipalities).
Management irregularities
The investigation began in October 2020 following a report from the Guadeloupe Regional Chamber of Accounts to the public prosecutor's office on management irregularities within the Sign'Alizé association, in particular the use of funds to purify personal debts of the musician.
Searches were carried out in June 2021 on the premises of the association and at the respective homes of the two men, who were placed in police custody for more than 30 hours.
Pierre Édouard Décimus and Rudy Vardarassin have not indicated whether they will appeal the decision.