House raids in corruption investigation in France

According to the French press, by decision of the prosecution, the houses of Christian Gravel, former president of the Interministerial Committee for the Prevention of Crime and Radicalization (CIPDR) associated with the financing, as well as the directors of the Association of Associations for Military Preparation and Physical Education (USEPPM), Mohamed Sifaoui and Cyril Karunagaran, were registered.

The raids are carried out within the scope of the investigation, which began with the decision of the National Financial Prosecutor’s Office (PNF) for reasons such as “embezzlement of public money” and “abuse of trust.”

Announced by then Citizenship Minister Marlene Schiappa in April 2021, the €2.5 million Marianne Fund was created under the name of “fighting separatism” following the murder of history teacher Samuel Paty in October 2020.

THE MANAGEMENT OF THE FUND WAS AT CIPDR

The PNF launched an investigation in May into allegations of illegal use of the Marianne Fund, and the Interior Ministry’s General Administrative Inspection (IGA) agency released a report on June 6 after its inspections of the Marianne Fund.

The report revealed that CIPDR had been grossly negligent with regard to the expenses of the Marianne Fund and Christian Gravel, president of CIPDR, resigned.

The report also indicated that the USEPPM, of which Sifaoui is one of the directors, did not use the subsidy received from this fund in accordance with its intended purpose. (AA)