The plan seems perfect, yet you suspect that it will derail… Money Jungle, the series imagined for David d'Equainville (editor and author) and Pascal Henry (investigative journalist and director) on behalf of NBE éditions is revealed, episode by episode, in our journal.
If you missed an episode or if you prefer to read everything at once, you will find episodes 8 to 14 of the adventure below.
Money Jungle,
a series loosely based on real events, tells the story of a young lawyer, fascinated by the complacency bought by money, who chose to follow the appetites of her billionaire employer.
Find the first seven episodes of the series here ...
EPISODE 8: We must finish the cake
The local tracker guided the Prince in the footsteps of an impala, an antelope capable of fleeing by leaping more than 3 meters high. The Etosha Plains 4 animal safari pack guaranteed game. Namibia was Africa's diamond. If it was not the fauna or the landscapes offered to the surprise of travelers, the quality of the gems extracted along the Atlantic Ocean ended up convincing the most reluctant. And his Highness, in the costume of a hunting white man, was sensitive to this kind of detail.
Behind his back, rifle loaded, Chestov did everything to make his stay pleasant and return with a passport bearing the arms of the Kingdom. But the Prince smirked, demanded to pull an elephant instead of a warthog, rolled his eyes at the slightest annoyance. The oligarch's Mauser 98K silently followed the boss's guest. The time had not come to "kill the dead", as seasoned hunters advise, because it is always necessary to fire a second precautionary bullet at game that has already been hit.
Oleg wanted his passport.
He preferred to buy the connivance of the man of the bush.
He would also pay smugglers, if necessary, to repatriate the tusks to Europe.
Another time he would let off steam by pulling the baboons which swarmed in the scattered trees of the savannah.
The most urgent thing was to put an end to this birthday present.
The day before, Anna Amakhtova had informed him of an alarming news, the authenticity of Leonardo da Vinci, sold a fortune to an Arab prince, was called into question.
He urgently needed to return.
EPISODE 9: Leonardo da Vinci at any cost
In his Airbus A 319 registered C-Maria, named after his eldest daughter, who brought him back, Oleg Shestov reread the merchant's recommendations. Nicolas Haller had taken the trouble to warn him. A Leonardo da Vinci for sale on the Internet was necessarily suspect. It was not a blank deal. All the art dealers had already rushed to sniff it. The time to wait for a buyer had not worked in his favor either. Despite the sellers' denials, a lingering scent of forgery still emanated from it. According to Haller, whoever made an offer risked being considered a donkey and being the laughing stock of all major collectors.
But Shestov had wanted this Leonard at all costs, even damaged, even rebuilt, even repainted. A Christ in glory who looked like a Russian icon was too tempting. How can you resist an (almighty) Pantocrator when you aspire to build the finest art collection in the world? He had wanted to force his luck by asking his merchant to help him. “First of all, pass the painting in the spectral light of a laboratory to know the real proportion of redone painting” he replied.
Haller's investigation had reported that none of the American and European museums had wanted to acquire this piece purchased at its lowest estimate, a thousand dollars, at auction from an auction house installed next to a Bayou, in the land of alligators.
The merchant had indicated that this purchase was primarily to be considered as a personal pleasure.
Listening only to his luck, Shestov had another idea.
EPISODE 10: Game of chance, game of villain
Walking with a billionaire's step does not have the same allure as walking with a billionaire's step, a collector of masterpieces from the history of art. This is what Chestov had thought in deciding to acquire the Christ attributed by the sellers to Leonardo da Vinci. Believing himself for a long time under the protection of mystical forces, to get several billion out of Russia without being worried either by the Mafia or by the power in place was indeed a miracle, he counted on the aura of the painting to continue to bring him luck. The superstitious part of his character, known only to his wife and his lawyer, Anna, who liked to flatter its contours, had dictated this blow to him. A portrait of Christ blessing you looking at you was an irresistible charm to Chestov.
It was his dirty little secret.
He had always believed himself to be the smartest, a gamer protected by fate.
But now that he had sold his Vinci to an Arab prince, breaking the world auction record for a work of art, 460 million euros, he could not afford to lose face because of an appraisal. on the authenticity of the painting.
This feat had succeeded in giving invaluable value to a painting that no one had wanted for years.
In the event of a problem, it would be his dealer, Nicolas Haller, who would wear the hat in his place.
Had he not handled the negotiation of the Vinci with the almost nonexistent face, of which only the hand and the arm seemed to be original?
"Thinking of putting Anna on that twisted blow," Chestov ruminated.
EPISODE 11: Skiing whets the appetite
Barely landed from the safari with the Prince, Shestov, settled in a royal suite, found snow again for a long weekend with some helpful friends and his eldest daughter. "Are you sure you heard correctly?" He asked her. "Sure, he was telling her about the location of your collection," Maria said. The young woman overheard a conversation between her mother, Lydia Chestova, and Nicolas Haller, the art dealer. It was a question of the exact location of the warehouses where the paintings were located.
Meanwhile, guests, the Kingdom's Minister of Justice and his wife were relaxing at the hotel's spa, which in its brochure promised to intensify each guest's inner radiance by splashing them around in restorative whirlpools. . On vacation for a few days at Shestov's expense, in one of those establishments tailor-made to collect the pocket money of the ultra-rich, they salivated in advance for the gastronomic dinner to come.
It didn't take long for the oligarch to decide what conversation to have with the Minister of Justice, his Kingdom obligee, and his wife. A mole and a vase, according to Anna, his lawyer. Shestov was counting on the lawyer to find a way to neutralize Nicholas Haller. Lydia Chestova should not make her an ally at any cost.
While he imagined the workings of the trap to set for the merchant, the staff of the starred restaurant set the tables.
One of the waitresses had decided to listen to Shestov's table, there might be a ticket to get by gleaning some information.
EPISODE 12: The ambush
A few months before the arrest of the merchant, Nicolas Haller, SMS from the lawyer of the billionaire, Anna Amakhtova, to the Minister of Justice of the Kingdom: “I wanted to ask you to book the next weekend. I am celebrating my birthday and it would be a great pleasure for me to invite you with your wife. I'll send you the details. Kisses. "Response from the Minister of Justice to Anna:" Thank you for this kind invitation. We will be with you. Friendships. "
It is almost conquered land that now the lawyer maneuver. Influence is a game of money, patience, and more money.
SMS from Anna to the Commissioner: “dear friend, thank you for sharing your extraordinary experiences within Europol, it gave me pleasure to have lunch with you. Friendships. Anna. "Response from the commissioner:" Dear Anna, thank you especially to you for this moment. "
The time has come, it suffices for the lawyer to press the button.
Thus, a few days before the arrest, an SMS warns the commissioner: “Hello, he will come on the morning of the 26th. It's confirmed. So let's stay on plan A. Call me back as soon as possible. Anna "Response from the commissioner:" I will call you back as soon as possible. "
The next day, SMS from the commissioner to Anna Amakhtova: “we have worked to ensure the extension of the police custody which will take place tomorrow.
Let's meet at 10 a.m. to discuss the details of the case.
"Anna's response:" Thank you very much for everything.
We could perhaps also discuss cooperation with the French police on the matter.
Good evening to you and see you tomorrow.
"
EPISODE 13: The arrest
In the hall of the building where the oligarch had drawn him, Haller did not immediately understand that the group of men he had confused with Shestov's bodyguards were in fact the police who had come to pass him by. handcuffs bluntly. As he knew nothing of the perfect synchronization of the press releases sent to the media to proclaim in the same tone, news and slander: "arrest of the art dealer Nicolas Haller!" He was far from imagining that the stadium had served as a pretext for the police officers who had come to arrest him. According to them, transactions of works would have taken place not far from the football field, a good reason to send it to the gulag!
For Chestov, owner of the club, the matches were mainly used to secure the services of each other. He used the authorities of the Kingdom for his own benefit. Places offered for league 1, a box for the year, with small oven and champagne, and here is a judge or a police officer caught in a gear difficult to undo when one is a fan of the round ball. GRECO, the anti-corruption body of the Council of Europe, including the United States, was not mistaken in describing the Kingdom's justice system as weak in the face of corruption.
In the police premises, after being searched, put in touch with a duty lawyer, taken to the cell for the first time before going out to be questioned, Nicolas Haller understood that the war had only just started and that it was over. to last.
He was not surprised at the announcement of the extension of his 48-hour custody.
EPISODE 14: The Zonzon of the Kingdom
The prison is clean, the guards are polite, the address is required, the interrogations which follow one another are done in a courteous tone. In this dissection room atmosphere, Nicolas Haller quickly understands that the interviews are being carried out. It has been embellished to be put on the grill. We do not have the same resistance in a 9 m² cell. This is the “prison” effect. If you are there, you probably must be a little to blame. But Haller does not let himself be impressed. He is organizing the counterattack.
He spotted irregularities in the minutes. The investigators who cook it send false documents to the judge. A bank in the Kingdom produced a bogus certificate of several accounts in Haller's name, shadow bank accounts, supposedly implicating him. The computer equipment seized during his arrest has never been placed under seal. Anyone could slip compromising documents into it that investigators would pretend to discover.
The judicial machinery is not working in its favor for the moment.
The Leonardo da Vinci is a pretext.
False or not, it will remain the most expensive painting in the world.
Haller is in prison because of information given to Lydia Chestova about the location of her husband oligarch's collection, a treasure trove of $ 2 billion.
It is by dealing with the billionaire's wife that the merchant will have a chance to get rid of the thugs released after him.
Information will save him, the name of the offshore companies that host the works, all properties of Chestov's daughter.
Haller urgently needs to speak to Lydia Chestova.
(To be continued)
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