Ladj Ly opens a branch of his Kourtrajmé school in Marseille -

Christophe Ena / AP / SIPA

Bad management or embezzlement?

The association of the award-winning director of

Les Misérables

, Ladj Ly, who heads his free film school Kourtrajmé in Seine-Saint-Denis, is the target of a preliminary investigation for breach of trust and money laundering, the Bobigny prosecutor's office said on Wednesday.

As part of this procedure opened in February 2020, a search took place last Thursday in the premises of La Cité des Arts Visuels in Montfermeil, said the prosecution, confirming information from the newspaper

Le Parisien

.

“We don't know what we are accused of.

And for the moment the prosecution has not seen fit to hear us, ”said Me Julia Minkowski, the lawyer for the 43-year-old filmmaker and his brother, who chairs the association, which defends itself against any wrongdoing.

According to Me Minkowski, the director only got wind of the investigation at the end of December when the school's financial partners received requests from the police.

"This investigation endangers the projects and partnerships of the association," she laments.

Suspicions of embezzlement over an amount exceeding 200,000 euros

A year ago, Tracfin, the gendarme of Bercy was intrigued by certain withdrawals and transactions of money to other companies and ramifications.

According to information from the

Parisian

, suspicions of embezzlement relate to an amount exceeding 200,000 euros.

The Kourtrajmé school, created in 2018 in the suburb where the filmmaker grew up and started, Montfermeil, offers free training without age conditions or diploma in cinema or image art.

The young establishment already has a number of prestigious collaborators and partners.

Its section devoted to art and images is thus managed by the artist JR, also a member of Kourtrajmé, while the actress Ludivine Sagnier directs the training of apprentice actors.

The American platform Netflix signed a three-year partnership with Ladj Ly's school at the end of 2020 and provided him with funding to “promote a new generation of talent in film and audiovisual creation”.

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  • Cinema

  • Justice

  • Misappropriation of public funds