the Paris prosecutor’s office requires the referral to the assizes of 23 people

The investigation was opened in 2020, the police uncovered a criminal organization whose main members belonged to the Masonic lodge.

The Paris prosecutor’s office is requesting the referral to court of 23 people in the so-called Athanor affair, franceinfo learned on Thursday May 30 from a source close to the case.

These people are suspected of having participated in criminal projects attributed to a large cell linked to a Freemason lodge named Athanor. Among those implicated are DGSE agents and former DGSI, some are police officers and others simple executioners. These members are at the origin, at different levels, of several violent attacks and a murder.

It all started in July 2020, when police officers were alerted to the presence of a suspicious black Clio in an alley in Créteil (Val-de-Marne). Inside, two people. While checking them, the agents discovered a loaded weapon and two knives which belonged to the French army. The two men are soldiers, responsible for monitoring a DGSE camp, the foreign intelligence directorate. Their code names are Adelar and Dagomar.

From there, the police will discover a criminal cell headed by two men: one has a private security company, the other is a former police officer who worked for domestic intelligence. The two met in the Athanor Masonic lodge. Between them, they will set up a large-scale criminal cell. The goal: to carry out the revenge plans of individuals in exchange for a few tens of thousands of euros. Investigators currently count seven contracts in total which range from simple surveillance to physical assault.

Among the victims, a rally driver whose body was buried in the middle of the forest in 2019 for a money debt. There is also a trade unionist considered annoying by his boss who plans to have him killed. A coach who narrowly escapes an assassination sponsored by a professional competitor. Or even two politicians targeted by rivals in the race for mayor of a town in Val-de-Marne.

Each time, several people are involved: intelligence agents or ex-agents, private security agents, or even a police officer suspected of having consulted confidential files on behalf of Athanor. During his interrogations, one of the main perpetrators admitted to having been persuaded to act on secret missions for the state.

After the prosecution’s requisitions made public on Thursday, it will now be up to the investigating judge in charge of the case to make a decision on whether to hold a trial.