Financial adviser to France's richest woman target of police search

Police searched the offices of the financial adviser to France's richest woman Friday as part of a growing scandal that includes allegations she gave cash illegally to President Nicolas Sarkozy's presidential campaign.
APR 15, 2010
By  Bloomberg
Police searched the offices of the financial adviser to France's richest woman Friday as part of a growing scandal that includes allegations she gave cash illegally to President Nicolas Sarkozy's presidential campaign. Three vans of police officers arrived at the offices of Patrice de Maistre, chief financial adviser to L'Oreal heiress Liliane Bettencourt. They cordoned off the modern office building in the posh Paris suburb of Neuilly-sur-Seine, where Sarkozy was long mayor, and officers were coming in and out. French authorities are looking into Bettencourt's foreign bank accounts and tax file. Separately, French prosecutors opened a preliminary investigation this week into claims that she secretly gave euro150,000 to Sarkozy's party during his 2007 presidential election campaign. The claims, which are unproven and which Sarkozy denies, are part of a large and growing scandal that has destabilized Sarkozy's conservative government and helped push the president's approval ratings to new lows among French voters squeezed by the global economic crisis. De Maistre has been at the heart of the affair, which stemmed from an inheritance dispute between Bettencourt and her daughter. De Maistre recently acknowledged that Bettencourt had tens of millions of euros in foreign bank accounts. Sarkozy has sought to crack down on tax havens and wealthy French taxpayers with assets abroad. More explosively, a former accountant who worked under de Maistre, Claire Thibout, told investigators that de Maistre ordered her to withdraw large chunks of cash from Bettencourt's accounts for Sarkozy's UMP party during the 2007 election campaign. De Maistre and Thibout were questioned together by investigators Thursday. Thibout denied earlier reports attributed to her that envelopes of cash were given to Sarkozy himself, according to a judicial official. She told investigators Thursday that de Maistre asked her to withdraw money to give to UMP treasurer Eric Woerth. Antoine Gillot, Thibout's lawyer, told The Associated Press on Friday that extracts of his client's questioning had been leaked to media to destabilize his client and called for an independent investigating magistrate to be named to conduct the inquiry. During Wednesday's questioning, De Maistre denied ordering any such withdrawals, the judicial official said. The official was not authorized to be publicly named, according to French judicial policy. Woerth is Sarkozy's labor minister and in charge of a difficult pension reform that aims to raise the retirement age in France from 60 to 62. Opposition politicians are demanding that Woerth resign, but Sarkozy has vigorously defended him. Campaign finance scandals have dogged past French administrations. Sarkozy calls the campaign cash allegations an effort to smear him. Prime Minister Francois Fillon said Friday that the allegations were "not based on evidence." The people behind the claims "were perhaps blinded by a passion to harm the president, while they in fact harmed France," he said during a visit to Croatia. Bettencourt's lawyer, Georges Kiejman, said Thursday that "nothing has proven that Madame Bettencourt is conducting secret political financing." An intergovernmental financial inspection agency is investigating Bettencourt's tax file, and says it will release its findings by Monday.

Latest News

Judge OKs more than $90 million in settlement money for GWG investors
Judge OKs more than $90 million in settlement money for GWG investors

Mayer Brown, GWG's law firm, agreed to pay $30 million to resolve conflict of interest claims.

Fintech bytes: Orion and eMoney add new planning, investment tools for RIAs
Fintech bytes: Orion and eMoney add new planning, investment tools for RIAs

Orion adds new model portfolios and SMAs under expanded JPMorgan tie-up, while eMoney boosts its planning software capabilities.

Retirement uncertainty cuts across generations: Transamerica
Retirement uncertainty cuts across generations: Transamerica

National survey of workers exposes widespread retirement planning challenges for Gen Z, Millennials, Gen X, and Boomers.

Does a merger or acquisition make sense for your firm? Why now is the perfect time to secure your firm’s future
Does a merger or acquisition make sense for your firm? Why now is the perfect time to secure your firm’s future

While the choice for advisors to "die at their desks" might been wise once upon a time, higher acquisition multiples and innovations in deal structures have created more immediate M&A opportunities.

Raymond James continues recruitment run with UBS, Morgan Stanley teams
Raymond James continues recruitment run with UBS, Morgan Stanley teams

A father-son pair has joined the firm's independent arm in Utah, while a quartet of planning advisors strengthen its employee channel in Louisiana.

SPONSORED RILAs bring stability, growth during volatile markets

Barely a decade old, registered index-linked annuities have quickly surged in popularity, thanks to their unique blend of protection and growth potential—an appealing option for investors looking to chart a steadier course through today's choppy market waters, says Myles Lambert, Brighthouse Financial.

SPONSORED Beyond the dashboard: Making wealth tech human

How intelliflo aims to solve advisors' top tech headaches—without sacrificing the personal touch clients crave