#White collar crime:
FTX trial: Sam Bankman-Fried, “the fallen king of cryptos”, sentenced to 25 years in prison
Sam Bankman-Fried, cofounder and former CEO of the crypto assets exchange platform FTX has been sentenced to 25 years in prison by an American judge. This sentence is the consequence of the trial that ended in Novembre 2023 in which Sam Bankman-Fried was found guilty of seven counts of accusation including fraud and money-laundering. He was notably convicted for using the funds of FTX’s clients to finance the transactions and risky investments of his investment company, leading to the loss of 8 billion dollars for thousands of investors. > Read article
Influencer abuses: the DGCCRF nails half of the stars inspected, some of whom could be prosecuted
The French competition and consumer authority (Direction Générale de la Concurrence, de la Consommation et de la Répression des Fraudes – DGCCRF) has just published the results of its 2022 and 2023 inspections in the commercial influence sector. Out of just over 300 influencers inspected, the DGCCRF found anomalies for half of them, mostly involving misleading commercial practices, but also more serious facts such as advertising for dangerous products banned from sale or counterfeiting. As a result, 81 compliance injunctions and 35 criminal prosecutions were issued. The intensification of controls is explained in particular by the controversies surrounding the activity of influencers and the promulgation of the law of 9 June 2023 aimed at supervising commercial influence. > Read article
Edouard Philippe the target of a preliminary investigation by the National Financial Prosecutor’s Office, searches
Searches at Le Havre town hall and at the headquarters of the urban community took place on 3 April 2024 as part of an investigation by the French Financial Prosecutor (“PNF”) into Edouard Philippe, former prime minister and mayor of Le Havre, for “illegal taking of interests, misappropriation of public funds, favoritism and moral harassment”. Edouard Philippe has been the target of a complaint filed in September 2023 by a former employee of the urban community following the conclusion in 2020 of a convention between Edouard Philippe with the volunteer president of the LH French Tech association, which also happened to be the deputy mayor in charge of innovation and digital, and according to which the association was supposed to receive 2.154 million euros for services of general economic interest despite the warnings and advices of several of the urban community’s legal experts on the potential conflict of interests. > Read article
Corsican organized crime Agen: a magistrate from Agen brought before a judge to be indicted with 11 counts
A judge of the Agen Court of Appeal was put in custody on Wednesday, at the end of which she was brought before a judge to be indicted with forgery of public documents by a public agent, use of forgery and misappropriation of public funds. She is suspected of having links with an alleged member of Corsican organized crime in regard with the construction, renovation and rental of her former villa in Corsica. This procedure is part of an investigation opened by the Nice public prosecutor’s office, liked to the judicial information opened by the Specialized Interregional Jurisdiction (JIRS) of Marseille regarding the Corsican criminal gang of Petit Bar, and into the investigation subsequently entrusted to the Central Office for the Fight against Corruption and Financial Offenses and tax (OCLCIFF) to pursue the investigation of the case. > Read article
Jean-Louis Missika, former deputy mayor of Anne Hidalgo in Paris, convicted for conflict of interests
A former deputy in charge of urban planning in Paris, Jean-Louis Missika, was sentenced this Tuesday, 2 April, by the Paris Criminal Court to a fine of 90,000 euros and two years of ineligibility for conflict of interest. Mr. Missika was accused of pantouflage for joining two private real estate groups in 2020 and 2021 following the end of his mandate.. The former deputy mayor of Paris was convicted in the context of a guilty-plea procedure (CRPC). > Read article
