INTERVIEW
The Paris Criminal Court on Tuesday acquitted Bernard Tapie, tried for "fraud" in the controversial arbitration case that granted him 403 million euros in 2008 and was annulled in civil for "fraud". For the court, "there is no evidence in the case to assert" that this sentence "was surprised by the fraud". Invited Tuesday of Europe 1 Maurice Lantourne, historical lawyer and friend of Bernard Tapie, also implicated and relaxed this Tuesday, confides "his joy and his relief".
"The court holds that there is no fraudulent maneuver"
"I was pursued for doing my job, which is quite rare.I have been the subject of harsh criticism for a few years.It is a great joy and relief, on the one hand to be relaxed, but also that everyone is relaxed, in a decision that is extremely precise and technical, "says the lawyer. In the very words of the court, "there is no maneuver to know how to skilfully handle his rights as part of a judicial strategy". Terms with which Maurice Lantourne is in perfect agreement.
"The tribunal technically answered all the elements of the prosecution, but above all it showed that, for a lawyer, it is not a maneuver that constitutes a fraud to establish a judicial strategy. apply, as long as it is not fraudulent and the court holds that there is no fraudulent maneuver, "said the lawyer.
For the former Bernard Tapie's advice, this court decision only reinforces a conviction: "From the beginning, we are convinced that Bernard Tapie is right with regard to the bank (Credit Lyonnais, in the context of the controversial arbitration at the origins of the case) ". "Bernard Tapie won in the first instance, on appeal, by arbitration It is only in defiance of the law that these decisions were annulled", including by the civil justice, which sentenced the businessman to repay the 403 million euros paid by the State in 2008.
Bernard Tapie must still repay the 403 million
"Since 1996, I am in this file," says Maurice Lantourne. "And I was satisfied with the evidence that he had been robbed by the bank, and that was a piece of support because we ripped off the pieces one by one, on the one hand, in searches that were made against Tapie but who turned around for him, when we discovered the secret documents that the bank had concealed, then by going to the United States, as part of another procedure, look for documents which established that the companies' The banks that had set up the bank were portage companies, and in fact the bank had bought the business it was selling.
"It is the most serious fault that an agent can commit," insists the lawyer. And to explain: "You are confidently charging someone to sell your house, he is telling you that he can sell it for $ 500,000, and in fact he has sold it a million to a third. buy 500,000 from a friend and it takes you the gain.It's easy to understand: you do not have the right to buy the asset you are responsible for selling, unless you have a written authorization from seller".
Despite this release in criminal justice, Bernard Tapie must still repay the millions collected during the arbitration supposed to settle his dispute with Credit Lyonnais, related to the resale of Adidas. In civil cases, the arbitration Tapie was canceled for "fraud" in 2015 and the businessman was finally sentenced in May 2017 to repay the sums received. In mid-January, the courts placed their companies in receivership. The terms of reimbursement of Bernard Tapie - in personal bankruptcy since December 1994 - are still debated in the commercial court.
Why were Bernard Tapie and Crédit Lyonnais in dispute?
The beginnings of the case go back to ... 1993. That year, the sports equipment manufacturer Adidas is sold by Bernard Tapie to a group of investors including Crédit Lyonnais, then public. The transaction, for an amount of 315.5 million euros, marks the beginning of a dispute between the bank and the businessman. Because since 1994, while Bernard Tapie is personally placed in liquidation, Adidas is sold to Robert Louis-Dreyfus for 701 million euros. Bernard Tapie estimates to have been cheated and claims 229 million to Crédit Lyonnais, in capital gains on sale.