Arnaud Lagardère, heir to a French aeronautical and media empire over which he gradually lost control, was indicted on Monday, suspected of having drawn on the accounts of his companies to finance his lifestyle and personal expenses for several years .
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At the end of a day of interrogation by financial investigating judges, Arnaud Lagardère, 63, “ was placed under judicial supervision with a ban on management and the obligation to provide a bond of 200,000 euros “, a judicial source told AFP. He was charged with “ dissemination of false or misleading information, vote buying, misuse of corporate assets and abuse of power and failure to file accounts ”, according to this source.
This is the last episode of the long series which saw Arnaud Lagardère lose its aura and over the years sell off the group founded in 1992 by his father Jean-Luc, architect of the merger between the aircraft manufacturer Matra and the publisher Hachette. The acts with which he is accused were committed between April 2009 and December 2022.
Heir to the empire built by his father
Arnaud Lagardère, who inherited the empire built by his father upon his death in 2003, is suspected of having “ has his lifestyle and personal expenses financed by drawing on the funds of the Lagardère SAS and Lagardère companies » (LCM), detailed the judicial source. For several years, these companies “ would have notably taken charge of expenses linked to the buildings he occupies as well as an inheritance debt and numerous current account advances “, she added.
In November 2019, the investigative daily The letter had revealed that Arnaud Lagardère refused to publish the accounts of his personal holding company Lagardère Capital & Management (LCM), so as not to “ make public your personal financial situation, in particular your level of debt “.
Read alsoBusinessman Arnaud Lagardère loses control of the group inherited from his father
According to a source close to the case, the case is based on accounting irregularities which remained within the scope of Arnaud Lagardère’s personal companies and which did not result in financial damage for the Lagardère group (media, publishing, distribution in train stations and airports). Former deputy general manager Pierre Leroy, pillar of the group, was indicted on April 10 for “ vote buying, complicity in abuse of corporate assets and presentation of inaccurate annual accounts » in particular, indicated the judicial source.