This lobbyist had asked BFMTV journalist Rachid M’Barki to broadcast information favorable to Morocco, Qatar or Russian oligarchs. His home was searched, the Radio France investigation unit learned on Tuesday.
Published
Reading time :
1 minute
:quality(50)/2023/02/26/63fb2c7367466_maxstockworld389688.jpg)
Lobbyist Jean-Pierre Duthion, involved in several foreign influence operations, was placed in police custody in Paris, the Radio France investigation unit learned from sources close to the case on Tuesday October 3. Its role had been established by the “Story Killers” investigation, led by the French consortium of journalists “Forbidden Stories” involving the investigation unit of Radio France. According to our revelations, a BFMTV journalist broadcast biased news at the request of Jean-Pierre Duthion.
>> Suspicion of interference at BFMTV: behind the case of Rachid M’Barki, the “Story Killers” investigation reveals the role of an Israeli disinformation agency
The latter, after having worked for a long time in Syria alongside international media, is now a lobbyist, that is to say responsible for promoting public and private actors in institutions and in the media. In this context, he asked BFMTV journalist Rachid M’Barki to broadcast information favorable to Morocco, Qatar, Sudan or Russian oligarchs. These operations were planned from Israel by a private influence agency made up of former Israeli military and intelligence agents.
Did he pay the BFMTV journalist?
The journalist was dismissed by BFMTV which filed a complaint against X and the national financial prosecutor’s office opened a preliminary investigation for alleged acts of “Bribery” And “private corruption”. As part of this investigation, the home of Jean-Pierre Duthion was searched last Wednesday. He has therefore been in police custody since Monday evening, investigators want to know in particular whether Jean-Pierre Duthion paid the BFMTV journalist in one way or another.
>> “Story Killers”: Percepto, the other champion of disinformation, targeted “Current Values”
In another case involving Jean-Pierre Duthion, revealed by Mediapart, the environmentalist deputy for Rhône Hubert Julien-Laferrière was also searched. He is suspected of having promoted a cryptocurrency in Cameroon in the Foreign Affairs Committee of the National Assembly, in February 2022. The national financial prosecutor’s office is investigating a possible “corruption of public official”. These two files were grouped together within the same preliminary PNF investigation.