#White collar crime:
French Senator Stéphane Ravier convicted to a 6-month suspended sentence and 1 year of ineligibility for illegal taking of interest
The Criminal court of Marseille convicted on the 29 May French Senator Stéphane Ravier to a suspended sentence of six months and one year of ineligibility for illegal taking of interest. The Senator was accused of having intervened to get a job for his son into Marseille’s 7th district city hall, while he was himself the mayor. The Prosecutor considered that Stéphane Ravier used its political influence to secure this recruitment. The latter announced he will file an appeal. > Read article
Money laundering case: Saïd Chabane acquitted by the Bobigny court
On 28 May 2024, the owner and former chairman of French football club SCO Angers, Saïd Chabane, was entirely acquitted of the charges of money-laundering for which he had been on trial before the Criminal court of Bobigny at the end of March 2024. The Prosecution had requested a suspended sentence of eighteen months of imprisonment. Out of the other four defendants, only the former club recruiter was convicted and sentenced to a one-and-a-half-year suspended sentence, while the others were also acquitted. > Read article
Consulting firms’ case: the Ministry of Health searched as part of a judicial investigation into “favoritism”
On 28 May 2024, The Ministry of Health has been searched by the Paris research section as part of a judicial investigation into charges of favoritism and concealment of favoritism opened in October 2021 following the report of a Senate commission that exposed the “massive and growing” use of consulting firms, noting that expenses had “tripled between 2017 and 2021” and questioning the State’s “sovereignty” in relation to these organizations. The French National Financial Prosecutor’s Office (PNF) also opened in the same case a preliminary investigation into consulting firm McKinsey for aggravated tax fraud and money laundering in 2022. > Read article
Donald Trump criminally convicted, an earthquake with incalculable political consequences.
On Thursday, 31 May, a New York jury convicted Donald Trump, Republican candidate for a second presidential term, on 34 felony counts. He was accused of having falsified business records to conceal the payment of $130,000 to a pornographic film actress with the intention of avoiding a sex scandal before the 2016 presidential election. The 12-member jury made its decision unanimously, making Donald Trump the first president of the United States to be criminally convicted. >Read article
#Ethics & Compliance:
Anti-money laundering: Council adopts package of rules
The European Union Council adopted on Thursday 30 May a set of new anti-money laundering rules in the interest of fighting against money laundering and terrorist financing. The latter officialize the creation of the European Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Authority (AMLA) which will have direct and indirect supervisory powers over high-risk regulated entities in the financial sector. In addition, the various rules applicable to the private sector will be set out in a new, directly applicable Regulation, while a directive will deal with the organization and cooperation of national authorities competent in the fight against money laundering and financing of terrorism. The regulations will also be extended into the crypto assets, luxury and football sector. > Read article
