Nasser Al-Khelaïfi again questioned in France: the Qatari President of Paris Saint-Germain was indicted on February 5 in the investigation relating to a possible fraudulent attempt by Arnaud Lagardère in 2018 to change in his favor A key vote from the Qatari Fund shareholder of his group.
Solicited, a judicial source confirmed this information obtained from a source close to the file on Thursday.
Mr. Al-Khelaïfi, 51, is indicted for complicity in the purchase of voting and damage to the freedom of the vote as well as for complicity in abuse of powers, according to the judicial source. He has no judicial control.
“This affair has absolutely and obviously nothing to do with Nasser Al-Khelaïfi, but as usual, he will be associated with it by a completely misguided process, as a resounding name responsible for everything and nothing, until This case collapses in silence in a few years ”commented a source close to «Nak».
In a first part of the survey, Mr. Lagardère is suspected of having used fraudulently for several years, up to 125 million euros, funds from his companies to finance his personal expenses.
The second part relates to 2018, when the group was in full influence between Vincent Bolloré, ally of Amber Capital, and Bernard Arnault, CEO of LVMH, who supported Arnaud Lagardère.
On April 24, 2018, Qatar Holding LLC, a subsidiary of the Qatar Sovereign Fund Investment Authority (QIA) and the main shareholder, had positioned itself in favor of the resolutions of Amber Capital.
This vote surprised Mr. Lagardère because he was not, according to him, a reflection of the will of the QIA, he told the judges, according to his interrogation of April 29, 2024 consulted by AFP.
He and his close team, like Pierre Leroy, pillar of the group, or Ramzi Khiroun, influence advisor, both indicted in this file, called their contacts, including the administrator of Qia Nasser al-Khelaïfi.
The latter has “Transmitted to the emir himself” The request, the judges Arnaud Lagardère told the judges.
” Surprised “
On February 5, in front of the magistrates, Nasser al-Khelaïfi said he ” surprised “ From his summons, according to his declarations reported by a source close to the file.
“I had no influence in this file, I am in the midst of a case (…) on the sole base of a simple phone call concerning a problem with the Qatar that I made to follow and My role has been limited to this ”has further reported the source.
According to other exchanges that AFP was aware, Mr. Leroy also offered in 2018 to Mr. Lagardère to solve this problem of calling “A friend” influential that could “As soon as possible join the president of Qia and the Ministry of Finance” : Nicolas Sarkozy.
More “All this was not done because I had the answer from Nasser Al-Khelaïfi”added Mr. Lagardère in April 2024.
The businessman Arnaud Lagardère before his hearing in the Senate, February 17, 2022 / Julien de Rosa / AFP / Archives
Five days after the first vote, Qia finally joined Mr. Lagardère’s positions.
In September 2018, a British-Moroccan diplomat near Doha, Jamal Benomar, was appointed as “Independent member” to the supervisory board of Lagardère SCA, a “Interlocutor” of quality according to Mr. Lagardère.
But the judges see it as a “Unofficial representation” The interests of Qatar and suspect a counterpart.
A spokesperson for Qia told AFP that the fund “Rately rejects any allegation of inappropriate conduct by Qia or Nasser al-Khelaïfi”adding that the latter “Was not in a position to influence or take the slightest action on behalf of Qia, when it comes to the Lagardère group”.
Former media and aeronautical empire, the Lagardère group was finally bought after a bitter battle at the end of November 2023 by Vivendi, controlled by the family of the conservative billionaire Vincent Bolloré.
In France, Mr. Al-Khelaïfi had already been indicted for corruption in the Qatar candidacies file at the 2017 and 2019 athletic Worlds, but this implication was definitively canceled in early 2023 in cassation.
The emblematic boss of PSG is targeted in other files. Parisian investigating judges thus look at the accusations of kidnapping and sequestration in Qatar formulated by the Franco-Algerian lobbyist Tayeb Benabderrahmane. Aimed, the boss of PSG refutes them and filed a complaint in particular for blackmail.
Ex-employees of «Nak» have also filed a complaint against him, among other things for concealed work.
(tagstotranslate) President