the Court of Cassation orders a new trial

New twist in the controversial arbitration case of 2008 between Bernard Tapie and Crédit Lyonnais. The Court of Cassation ordered, Wednesday, June 28, a new trial for the ex-boss of Orange Stéphane Richard and for the civil servant Jean-François Rocchi. In November 2021, they had been sentenced for complicity in embezzlement of public property by the Paris Court of Appeal, respectively to one year and two years suspended prison sentence.

The highest French court followed the recommendations of the Advocate General who, at the hearing, had considered that the two men could not be condemned for complicity in the embezzlement of public funds, insofar as the Court of Appeal had, in its decision, acknowledged that they “did not know the fraudulent nature of the arbitration”. “Therefore, the Court of Appeal could not consider that they were complicit in the embezzlement”underlined the Court of Cassation.

This private arbitration, which had vindicated Bernard Tapie and awarded him 404 million euros, was then canceled in civil proceedings for “fraud” in 2015 by the Paris Court of Appeal, which had sentenced the former minister to to reimburse. An investigation had also been opened to determine whether the arbitration had been rigged in favor of Bernard Tapie. After a resounding acquittal at first instance in 2019, four men were sentenced on appeal on November 24, 2021. They had all appealed.