The French government has not renewed the approval allowing the Anticor association to intervene in anti-corruption cases. The association has already announced that it has contested this decision in court.
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“ It’s a Christmas present for corrupters “, scathed Anticor’s lawyer, Me Vincent Brengarth, judging this decision ” scandalous “. “ This decision unfortunately does not surprise us because we are well aware that our actions against corruption deeply annoy the government. », Explained Elise Van Beneden, president of the NGO office.
Since 2015, the approval has allowed Anticor to take legal action in cases of alleged corruption, particularly in the event of inaction by the prosecution. Its previous approval had been canceled by administrative justice and the Minister of Foreign Affairs Catherine Colonna, to whom the task of renewing it or not was devolved. in extremis in a decree of December 24, had until Tuesday midnight to do so. This non-response amounts to a “ implicit decision of refusal », According to the source at the ministry, stressing that the association could contest it.
Created in 2002, the NGO is involved in more than 160 procedures. Among the best-known procedures, there is the awarding of the Football World Cup to Qatar, the investigation for illegal taking of interests targeting the Secretary General of the Élysée, Alexis Kohler, or even that against the Minister of Justice, Éric Dupond-Moretti, before the Court of Justice of the Republic.
Several procedures risk being canceled
Anticor has filed complaints in recent years in several cases in which several senior state officials are directly involved. The refusal to renew approval decided today will have consequences on the criminal proceedings launched or relaunched by Anticor. Certain procedures – mainly local – in which she filed a complaint with the creation of a civil party, could be partly canceled.
Anticor will therefore no longer be able to become a civil party – which forces the prosecution to forward its complaints to an investigating judge – in the event that its simple complaints are closed by the public prosecutor.
The complaint filed against
(and with AFP)