Bygmalion: three leaders of the campaign of Sarkozy in 2012 ... - The Obs

Paris (AFP) – Three senior officials of the 2012 campaign of Nicolas Sarkozy were indicted Friday in the investigation of a vast system of false invoices during this presidential

The former director. campaign and current prefect of Lozère, William Lambert, UMP deputy Philippe Briand, former treasurer of the campaign and the party lawyer, Philippe Blanchetier, too involved in his financial monitoring have been forgery for review fraud, concealment of abuse of confidence and illegal financing of complicity campaign, told AFP a judicial source.

They are now ten to be indicted in this case, with the four Bygmalion former executives and three former executives of the UMP under this status last fall.

Investigators are convinced that they participated in the establishment of a system of false invoices for the UMP supports about 18.5 million of expenses of the campaign of Nicolas Sarkozy. Purpose of fraud, prevent these costs are included in meetings campaign budget and explode the authorized ceiling of 22.5 million, which eventually was still exceeded.

In this purpose subsidiary Bygmalion, Event and Co., issued false invoices to the UMP for dozens of events, some of which have not been organized, while rallies were systematically minus costs in the accounts of campaign presented including the Constitutional Council, to which the qualification scam.

Of the four executives Bygmalion indicted for false or complicity, of which their founders, close to Jean-Francois Cope, three acknowledged fraud. But the UMP, with the exception of Jerome Lavrilleux, judges have encountered a wall of denials. Of the three former executives of the party indicted for forgery and breach of trust is former director general of the UMP, Eric Cesari, close to Nicolas Sarkozy, whose signature appears on quotes fictitious conventions.

As for Philippe Blanchetier he “did not decide anything, sign anything,” and “if people have cheated, they were able to do that by hiding from him,” he assured his advice, Alexandre Varaut, it leaves the financial hub of Paris

-. ‘What’s own’ –

The judges want to know who was aware of the fraud, which resulted in order and at what point in the campaign.

After the defeat of May 2012, in a situation of “extreme urgency”, as said Jerome Lavrilleux? In late March and early April, a few weeks of the first round, as claimed by executives Bygmalion? Even earlier?

Investigators found an Event sent another series of false invoices to the UMP, early 2012. Single remedial outstanding performance in late 2011 by the party, responded protagonists .

William Lambert, Philippe Briand and Philip Blanchetier attended including the meetings of “financial monitoring” campaign, according to testimony given in an old part of the UMP indictment file, Fabienne Liadzé .

However, from the first meetings, the prices announced by Event has cringe in the campaign team.

The boss of Event, Franck Attal, confirmed judges that he was asked to lower tariffs. But “the machine was racing” and “I was asked to new services,” which made it impossible to control costs, he confided, according to a source familiar with the matter. He claims to have warned Guillaume Lambert and Jerome Lavrilleux the problem of extra costs, but “they would say it had to be done.”

Guillaume Lambert has already stated that he had never been question her make-up of the accounts. Signatory to the campaign account, Philippe Briand had assured to have made “as clean.”

As for Nicolas Sarkozy, who has not been heard in this matter, he challenged the very existence “double billing system”, ensuring that he had “learned the name of Bygmalion” that “long after the presidential campaign.”