Vinci Construction France was indicted in February for “private corruption” in an instruction which also targets the former wealth manager in France of the former Emir of Qatar.
An investigating judge from the Nanterre public prosecutor’s office suspects Vinci Construction France, one of the country’s building leaders, of having paid “several million euros”, in particular through two subsidiaries, “to a company” belonging to the former Qatari wealth manager, Chadia Clot, explains to AFP a source close to the investigation. The suspected counterpart: to obtain certain agreements “such as the renovation of the lounges of the Ritz hotel or the rehabilitation of the Samaritaine in Paris”, continues this source. “Several million euros” would have been disguised, between 2008 and 2016, as “so-called decoration work within the framework of construction sites” invoiced by Vinci Construction France.
Subsidiaries of Vinci Construction France also indicted
Businesswoman of Palestinian origin Chadia Clot managed the French Property Management (FPM) fund, dedicated to the investments in France of the former Qatari emir, Hamad Ben Khalifa Al-Thani, until June 2017. She and her companion were indicted last January for “passive private corruption”, suspected of being the beneficiaries of this alleged corruption, confirmed the Nanterre prosecution. Contacted by AFP, Chadia Clot’s lawyer did not wish to speak.
A Tracfin report in 2015 led to the opening of a preliminary investigation by the eco-financial unit of the Nanterre public prosecutor’s office. The investigation was then entrusted to an investigating judge in 2018.
In addition to Vinci Construction France, its subsidiaries Petit and GTM Bâtiment were also indicted in February for “private corruption” for the same period of alleged acts, from 2008 to 2016. Vinci Construction France and Petit are also concerned for “complicity forgery and use of forgery in private writing”. In this case, a decorator is also indicted for “private corruption”.
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