The Ikea France company and fifteen people appear before the Versailles Criminal Court on Monday for the start of the trial of the furniture store spy case.

They are accused of having collected personal data from employees from 2009 to 2012. Hocine Redouani, who lodged a complaint for Force Ouvrière at the time, returns to this story on Europe 1. 

Criminal record, bank accounts, lifestyle ... The French subsidiary of Ikea and fifteen people, including two former CEOs, are tried from Monday before the criminal court of Versailles, for having illegally collected and kept hundreds of data on their employees between 2009 and 2012. A story better known as the spy case at Ikea.

Employees monitored throughout their careers

Upon hiring, employees are scrutinized.

And this continues throughout their careers at Ikea.

Why so-and-so drives a BMW?

Why did a model employee become very demanding overnight?

Even the most recalcitrant customers are sometimes gone to the file.

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This research goes through the director of risk management at the time: he sends the names and dates of birth of the employees to the police, then transmits the information obtained to the store managers.

The general manager of Ikea is in copy of emails for employees with the heaviest backgrounds.

A budget of 600,000 euros per year is allocated to this illegal research, at the rate of around one hundred euros per antecedent provided.

"Everything was done in an opaque way"

In 2012, the scandal broke out in the

Chained Duck

and was followed by a complaint from the Force Ouvrière union.

"We discover a whole bunch of documents, exchanges, mailing, between representatives of Ikea companies, the CEO in copy, security managers of the various sites who made the various copies of information to the police," explains Hocine Redouani , now CGT central delegate at Ikea, who had filed a complaint at the time.

"Among these email exchanges I find my name. Everything was done in an opaque way: no employee has ever realized that the company was asking for his criminal record," he continues. 

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 "It was impossible to hide something from Ikea"

After eight years of investigation, the furniture company is brought to justice, as well as the two former CEOs, former store managers, security officials but also five police officers or former police officers.

They are all suspected of having participated in this system of illegal data collection.

About twenty sites were identified during the investigation, such as Reims, Tours or even Rennes.

For the former director of risk management, this was a general instruction.

He affirms that the director of Ikea France in person had asked him for this systematic research to "no longer hire thieves".

Before adding: "it was impossible to hide something from Ikea". 

For his part, Hocine Redouani hopes that the defendants will "recognize their responsibilities" and "apologize to the employees".