On the website of his office, he offers his help to acquire houses or buildings in "compliance with the rules of law". But wouldn't he have violated these rules? Respected notary, installed not far from the very chic imperial palace of Compiègne (Oise), Me G. is today involved in a dark affair of swindling against a backdrop of sectarian aberrations. The 60-year-old was placed in police custody on June 30 by the police from the Central Office for the Suppression of Violence against Persons (OCRVP). After forty-eight hours of hearing, he was indicted on July 2 for "aggravated money laundering (Editor's note: by his quality of notary) " in Paris, as confirmed by a judicial source.
Me G. is suspected of having used his legal activity to launder the very juicy income of the intriguing Antonino Mercuri. This 58-year-old practitioner had hit the headlines when he was arrested in June 2018. For his supporters, he would be the genius osteopath of All-Paris, holder of a gift of healer. But for the magistrates and investigators, Antonino Mercuri would rather be a guru having exerted a “mental grip” on about fifty victims. Which earned him prosecution for "abuse of weakness of a person in a state of psychological subjection, scam, and illegal practice of medicine." So many offenses that he categorically denies.
A popular TV host, a gynecologist, a police officer from the criminal brigade ... many people have used the services of Antonino Mercuri, whose cabinet was based in the Paris region, and some have even written certificates to come to his rescue . But others believe they have been cheated and manipulated. Including an airline pilot, ruined by the consultations that the osteopath could charge up to 400 euros per session. Worried to see the latter weaken psychologically, his companion had in 2015 alerted Miviludes, the organization that fights against sectarian aberrations.
10 buildings, 500,000 euros and 100 luxury watches
Antonino Mercuri said he was able to “read instantly” the minds of his patients so that he could identify their concerns and cure them. Sometimes remotely, by sending simple SMS ... which would make him "an exceptional being". But behind these energetic treatments, justice questions a possible very lucrative scam. Wiretaps reveal that some patients had become financially dependent or had changed their lifestyle at the request of the alleged guru. “My job is to reassemble the major vital functions of the body [...] I am not a god. I am a caregiver who has a gift, "defended the osteopath in this article from" Parisien ".
While investigating the heritage of Antonino Mercuri, the OCRVP police, helped by their colleagues from the Central Office for the Suppression of Serious Financial Delinquency (OCRGDF), caused surprises. Around 500,000 euros in cash and 100 luxury watches, worth 2 million euros, are seized. Investigators discover that the osteopath owns ... ten buildings, some of which are acquired for life, and that he is subject to the ISF. But curiously, his bank accounts do not show any notable movement. How then did the osteopath acquire such heritage?
In June 2019, the police became interested in his notary, Me G., because he would hold five chests in which he would store goods belonging to the suspect. During the search at his office in the Oise, they got hold of 250,000 euros in cash, 14 gold bars (around 700,000 euros), 177 Napoleon or Louis gold coins, as well as wearer and luxury watches. Investigators suspect that this treasure actually belongs to Antonino Mercuri.
The examination of the accounts of Mr. G. reveals, moreover, banking operations made on behalf of the osteopath of stars who would assimilate to money laundering. The notary would not have been very attentive to the questionable origin of the funds provided by the osteopath or his relatives who were used to acquire his property. Heard, an ex-employee of the study claims to have made a report to Tracfin, the anti-money laundering cell of Bercy.
Hippopotamus teeth and crocodile skin
In police custody on June 30, Me G. admits a simple lack of vigilance. “My client firmly denies having knowledge that the funds could have a fraudulent origin, insists his lawyer, Me Emmanuel Marsigny. Especially since, during transactions, he was rarely the only notary present. As for the goods discovered at his office, the notary maintains that they belong to him. A legacy he was preparing, he told the police, to regularize with the taxman. The man is nevertheless under investigation.
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By searching his personal home, the investigators made a surprising new discovery: "Four legs and one elephant's ear, two tusks, a crocodile's tail and skin as well as hippopotamus teeth", details the parquet floor of Compiègne, which has just opened an incidental preliminary investigation for "transport, import and possession of non-domestic cash". The investigations were entrusted to gendarmes from the Compiègne research brigade, assisted by the Central Office for combating damage to the environment and public health (Oclaeps). The notary must be heard soon on this aspect.
Battle of numbers around the healer's earnings
Did the investigators overestimate the alleged hidden earnings of the healer? "At the very least, they were wrong, and that is a serious mistake," say Oliver Pardo and the lawyers of the firm Oplus, who defend Antonino Mercuri.
It all started with criminal seizures, the issue of which is the penalty of confiscation pronounced in the event of conviction. In this instruction, these seizures (buildings, bank accounts, luxury watches) were valued in November 2019 at 8.5 million euros. This amount is justified by the estimate by the judicial police of the proceeds of the offenses (in clear the money of the offense) allegedly committed by the accused: 12.5 million euros.
“Above all, Mr. Mercuri disputes the alleged offenses. Out of 5000 patients, we have… five plaintiffs plaintiffs. This amount of 12.5 million euros appeared totally disproportionate to us, our client never received such sums ”, maintain his lawyers. Rarely, they asked for access to the seals to look at the artisanal accounts of the osteopath recorded in 39 registers and loose sheets.
Three lawyers from Oplus spent four days there, in uncomfortable conditions. “We had to work cramped in the office of the clerks, the registers on our knees, forced to make copies with our laptops that we were not allowed to recharge, reports one of them. Everything has been done to complicate our task. "
A difference of more than 6 million euros
Claiming to have applied the same method of calculation as the investigators, the defense arrived at a very different result: 6.2 million euros. Stunned by the difference with the 12.5 million euros, the osteopath's counsel asked the investigating judge for the partial release of the criminal seizures. Refusal. In June, they pleaded their appeal, emphasizing the financial situation of their client.
"Mr. Mercuri has been unable to work since his cardiac arrests in November, and his companion, a restaurateur, has been very impacted by the pandemic," develops the Oplus firm, which has demanded the total release of seizures or at least 2, € 3 million. Decision on October 8.
For her part, the judge asked the investigators to re-use the seals to draw up summary tables and to compare them with the defense statements.