Ramzi Khiroun has been very discreet since his departure from the Lagardère group in 2022, with 17 million euros in termination compensation in his pocket. Since then, he has been seen in Emmanuel Macron’s delegation at the end of October, during the head of state’s state visit to Morocco.
According to information from the AFP, confirmed by the worldThe former confidant of Arnaud Lagardère and former director of foreign relations of the group was accused, on November 6, of “complicity in the purchase of votes and impairment of the freedom to vote” and of “complicity in abuse of power.” He was not placed under judicial supervision.
Mr. Khiroun is involved in one of the two parts of the judicial investigation against Arnaud Lagardère, accused on April 29 of “vote buying”, “abuse of business assets and abuse of power” and “dissemination of false or misleading information ”. indications to act on the price of a financial instrument, market manipulation.”
Khiroun is suspected of helping Lagardère obtain, in the spring of 2018, the vote for Qatar Holding LLC, a subsidiary of the sovereign fund Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) and then the main shareholder of his group (13% in capital and with 19, 5% of the voting rights), in favor of management agreements (therefore own), during the general meeting of shareholders, on May 3, 2018. And this in exchange for a promise made to the Qataris: Appoint Jamal Benomar, a British-Moroccan diplomat close to Doha, to the Lagardère SCA supervisory board to represent the emirate’s interests.
A complaint from Amber Capital
Jean-Luc Lagardère’s son is implicated in other alleged acts. Firstly, for having interfered in the election of the supervisory board, supposedly a counterpower to the management, by participating in direct negotiations with Qatari officials. Then, for having publicly presented Mr. Benomar before the shareholders as an alleged partner ” independent ” of the supervisory board during his co-option, in September 2018, then in 2019 during a general meeting, at the risk of having harmed shareholders.
Originally, this was a complaint filed in 2021 with the National Financial Prosecutor’s Office (PNF) by the activist fund Amber Capital that drew the attention of the justice system to this aspect. “ Qatari” of the file. Court documents, including the world According to what has been learned, illustrious intermediaries helped the businessman, behind the scenes, during the negotiations with the Qataris, initially favorable to the resolutions of the Amber fund before supporting Lagardère’s proposals, on April 29, 2018.
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