Following the Pandora Papers, the FFT Ethics Committee automatically took up the situation of Guy Forget, director of the Roland-Garros and Rolex Paris Masters tournaments, cited as beneficiary of opaque tax arrangements in a tax haven.
In its opinion of 5 November 2021, the Ethics Committee notes that in the absence of tax evasion or other criminally reprehensible behavior established, no infringement of the values of honesty and integrity on the part of the former Davis Cup winner is not characterized.
The Ethics Committee, however, invites the former captain of the Blues, if any follow-up, in particular legal action, were to be given to the part of the Pandora Papers concerning him, to do everything possible to ensure that the possible damage to his reputation that would result therefrom does not reflect on that of the tournaments that he directs or that of the FFT.
In other words, Forget should know how to make the right decisions ...
The Minister of the Economy promised to be "intractable with those who cheated"
Even if the charges against Forget predate the creation of the Federation's Code of Ethics, the committee recalls that “the compatibility of tax optimization practices with the values of solidarity and cohesion does not constitute an illegitimate issue, especially if income from the French Tennis Federation were to be affected… ”
In its conclusions, the Ethics Committee explains in particular that
“Individual tax behavior raises questions that are perhaps more moral than ethical.
These two concepts, although having strong links, do not coincide perfectly.
Thus, it could be that practices whose morality is discussed do not fall within the scope of the Charter of Ethics.
"
Last month the Minister of the Economy Bruno Le Maire explained that a task force made up of the national financial prosecutor's office and the general directorate of public finances would be set up to track down French fraudsters and that it would be "intractable with those who cheated ”.
600 French people would appear in the Pandora Papers investigation ...
