PARIS (Reuters) – The tycoon at the center of a decades-old French felony battle that has dragged politicians and business leaders in its wake is going on trial on Monday, accused of fraud. Bernard Tapie, the larger-than-life businessman and one-time chairman of Olympique Marseille soccer club, is embroiled in a fight over a full 1993 company deal and the repayment he won from the state 15 years later. The case has already been via
The civil courts brought on a 2016 trial of Christine Lagarde, now head of the International Monetary Fund but at the time finance minister, for her role in the saga. She was convicted of negligence but escaped fines or jail time. Six human beings will now be tried in a criminal court docket, such as Tapie, seventy-six, and Stephane Richard, the leader executive of telecoms organization Orange, who are accused of being complicit in the disputed nation payment. Richard became Lagarde’s leader of a team of workers in 2008.
The complex case harks back to when Credit Lyonnais bank bought Tapie’s stake in the then-struggling sports clothing enterprise Adidas 26 years ago. The financial institution, which was authority-owned at the time, later offered its stake for a miles higher price, leading the businessman to accuse it of defrauding him. Tapie was awarded a 403 million euro ($453 million) Kingdom-funded payout as part of a 2008 agreement authorized via Lagarde. But litigation continued, and he changed into ordered with the aid of a French court to return the price range in 2015, with the ruling confirmed by way of different judges in 2017.
The businessman, who’s tormented by cancer, is also attempting to misuse the public budget. He told France’s JDD newspaper that he stopped any form of treatment for his infection, so he should live lucidly during the trial. “This trial is one of the maximum important moments of my life,” Tapie stated. “What matters to me is that we establish, resoundingly, that I turned into no longer the crook.” Richard, accused of hiding some components of the compensation deal from Lagarde, denies any wrongdoing.
“He is calling forward to being capable of explaining himself in public and displaying that the allegations towards him are baseless,” his attorney Jean-Etienne Giamarchi stated. The French authorities, which have a 23 percent stake in Orange, have said Richard will need to step down if convicted. The trial is due to last until April 5. The accused face potential jail sentences of 5 to seven years and fines of as much as 375,000 euros.
