A former policeman, legislative candidate and opponent of vaccination against Covid-19, was indicted and remanded in custody for the circulation of the "
Free Franc
", a currency supposed to "
replace
" the euro, the Toulon prosecutor's office announced on Wednesday.
Arrested last week, Alexandre Juving-Brunet was indicted for having issued, within the framework of an association, "
on French territory initially an electronic currency, then then a paper currency, fiduciary, which is called the Franc libre
” and this with the stated aim
of “replacing the euro
”, indicated the public prosecutor of Toulon Samuel Finielz.
Mr. Juving-Brunet is accused of the facts of "
illegal exercise of the activity of electronic money issuer
", of "
provision of banking payment services on a regular basis by a person other than a credit institution
" , of “
unauthorized circulation of currency in order to replace legal tender currency
” and of “
organized gang scam
”, specified the public prosecutor.
Read alsoJean-Pierre Robin: “The euro has become a monkey currency, compared to the Swiss franc”
Banknotes of 1,000 francs with the effigy of the Frankish king Clovis or 200 francs of Joan of Arc, were thus sold at parity with the euro: the free Franc, presented as "
the currency of resilience and resistance
" , was available for order on the site of the same name since September 15.
Electronic transactions had been offered since August 15.
According to the investigation, “
about 1.3 million euros in subscriptions
” were paid by various individuals, said prosecutor Mr. Finielz, adding that “
it seems that there is a significant part (. ..) which has been used for personal purposes
” by the respondent.
Former candidate for the legislative elections in the Var and founder of the micro-party "
The people of France
", Mr. Juving-Brunet disputes having used the money paid for personal purposes and appealed against the pre-trial detention.
The file does not mention "
neither the demonstration of a personal enrichment nor of an embezzlement, nor of a prejudice
" committed against a third party, underlined Me Julien Besset, who disputes as such the leader
of "organized fraud
".
The Toulon prosecutor's office had been seized by the Prudential Control and Resolution Authority (ACPR), attached to the Banque de France, at the end of September.
In mid-November, a judicial investigation had been opened.
To the knowledge of the prosecution, no subscriber has reported to the courts.