The company EDF, its former CEO Henri Proglio, a former executive and about forty consultants are waiting for the prosecution to decide whether they will be tried or not for disputed contracts between 2010 and 2016, AFP learned Tuesday from sources close to the investigation.
Following a preliminary investigation that began on September 8, 2016, the National Financial Prosecutor’s Office (PNF) found that the offense of favoritism could be held against EDF, its former CEO Henri Proglio (2009-2014) and a former secretary general, Alain Tchernonog, according to a summary note dated February 14 and consulted by AFP.
Forty-one consultants are threatened with a lawsuit for receiving favouritism. Among them are the business leader Loïk Le Floch-Prigent, the former minister Claude Allègre, the former secretary of state Jeannette Bougrab, the former LR deputy Pierre Bédier and the criminologist Alain Bauer.
Journalists, communication professionals – StĂ©phane Fouks (Havas), Anne Meaux (Image 7) -, lawyers and two former judges of the Council of State are also targeted.
It is now up to the PNF to decide whether or not to hold a trial before the criminal court for each of the defendants. The lawyers of the latter were able to send their observations to the financial prosecutor’s office in order to have the charges dropped.
“No decision of orientation has been taken at this stage,” said the PNF, requested by AFP.
The lawyers contacted by AFP did not respond or did not wish to react, with the exception of Alain Bauer’s counsel.
“This investigation has violated all the rights of defense of Alain Bauer, who has always protested his absolute innocence,” said Me François Binet.
In the summer of 2016, the Court of Auditors had reported to the judiciary the existence within EDF of a specific procedure that “could lead to the negotiation of consultant contracts by mutual agreement without competitive bidding,” according to the PNF note.
The investigation has identified 44 contentious contracts signed between 2010 and 2016 under this so-called Tchernonog procedure, named after the former EDF secretary general and detailed in an internal document dated 6 September 2010.
The amounts of the missions ranged from 40,000 euros to 4 million euros. In these contracts, “EDF set out its needs and justified the choice of consultant by a brief presentation of the skills and specificity of the service provider”, the memo states.
During his hearing, Henri Proglio dismissed any “desire to hide or conceal anything”, citing “the specificity and confidentiality” of the missions entrusted to him.
Most of the consultants have taken refuge behind their lack of knowledge of public orders.
