Initially under judicial supervision, the director of the company responsible for security at Ajaccio airport was finally placed in pre-trial detention on Thursday, as part of the investigation into
“malfunctions”
in the award of this contract, announced the Marseille prosecutor's office on Thursday.
“The order of the judge of freedoms and detention was overturned and (Dominique) Peretti was placed in pre-trial detention
,” Marseille public prosecutor Nicolas Bessone told AFP, confirming initial information of the daily Corse Matin.
Indicted on February 6, Peretti was initially placed under judicial supervision and placed under house arrest in a property he owns in the Paris region, but the Marseille prosecutor's office appealed this decision.
Director of the company SAP SUR, winner of the airport security contract, valued at 11 million euros, Peretti was indicted for
“organized extortion, criminal conspiracy and concealment of favoritism”
by a magistrate instructor of the Specialized Interregional Jurisdiction (JIRS) of Marseille, responsible for organized and financial crime cases.
A competitor threatened with death
The investigation began after the complaint, at the end of March 2023, from a manager of the company Samsic Airport, the only other bidder for the call for tenders, who indicated having received a call threatening him with death just before going to Corsica to defend his company's case.
Samsic then withdrew its file from the call for tenders launched by the Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCI) of Corsica-du-Sud, manager of the airport.
The investigation identified Peretti as the buyer of the single-use telephone used to make this call.
It had also
“revealed a certain number of dysfunctions in the awarding of this contract”
, Bessone explained during a press conference at the beginning of February, mentioning in particular problems in the prices,
“much higher than those practiced previously”
, and
“the capabilities of the bidding company”
.
Peretti was arrested on January 30 in Bastelica (Southern Corsica), then transferred to Marseille.
He initially denied being the author of the call, before admitting it before the investigating judge, but he denied any threat, according to the prosecutor.
“My client disputes the facts with which he is accused
,” Peretti's lawyer, Me Charlotte Cesari, told AFP, who added that
“on the extortion, I note that no complaint has been filed by the Samsic company”
but only
“by an employee for threat”
.