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Trial: Renault security chief appears in court in “false spies” case
Trial: Renault’s security chief appears in court in the “false spies” case – (France 2)
13 years after the manufacturer fired three executives for industrial espionage, cleared a month later, Renault’s head of security appeared at the Paris criminal court on Wednesday January 17.
The former head of security for the Renault manufacturer appeared at the Paris criminal court on Wednesday January 17 for a case dating back to 2011. At that time, three executives of the group were accused of industrial espionage and immediately fired. . A month later, they are completely cleared. How could Renault have been so wrong? In 2010, management received an anonymous letter accusing an engineer: “I saw Balthazard Michel negotiate a bribe“, we can read there.
No spies but a crook
The manufacturer does not want a leak and decides to entrust the investigation, internally, to the group’s head of security, Dominique Gevrey. He quickly provides evidence: account statements in Switzerland and Lichtenstein which show that three executives, who worked on the development of the electric car, received money from China. At the time, they completely refuted these accusations and filed a complaint.
But the investigators end up realizing that Renault is not the victim of espionage, but of a crook: its head of security. He said he had paid a Belgian informant to obtain evidence incriminating the three executives, with company funds. Investigators believe he actually kept the money for himself. 13 years after the events, he still maintains his innocence.