The announcement caused Casino’s stock to plunge 9.43% to an all-time low. The brand’s CEO, Jean-Charles Naouri, was taken into custody on Thursday as part of an investigation for price manipulation and insider trading. The investigation comes as his group in financial difficulties must renegotiate its debt with its creditors in order to ensure its future.
The 74-year-old finance inspector and normalien is interviewed by the Financial Brigade, we learned from a source familiar with the matter, confirming information from the JDD. Contacted, his lawyer, Me Marie-Alix Canu-Bernard, did not respond. Asked, Me Sébastien Schapira, who also represents him, could not be reached immediately. The Casino group, requested by AFP, did not comment either.
“Price Manipulation”, “Bribery” and “Insider Trading”
This police custody is part of an investigation targeting Casino since February 5, 2020 into the facts of “price manipulation in an organized gang, active and passive private corruption” and “insider trading committed during 2018 and 2019” , the National Financial Prosecutor’s Office (PNF) told AFP in March. The PNF had specified that the investigation, which follows a report from the Financial Markets Authority (AMF), relates to the stock market price of the company “during this period”.
In May 2022, AMF investigators visited the group’s headquarters as well as the home of Jean-Charles Naouri. In its recent financial documentation, Casino indicates that this investigation “derives from an action brought against a former consultant of the Casino group” and specifies that the group, like “the managers concerned, formally dispute these allegations and have initiated all necessary remedies”.
Suspicions of payments to defend the price of Casino on the stock market
According to two sources familiar with the matter, this investigation concerns the links between Jean-Charles Naouri and the Casino group with press boss Nicolas Miguet. This businessman and press boss, also known for his political career as leader of the Rassemblement des taxpayers français party, has been convicted on several occasions by the Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF) in particular for price manipulation. .
According to several media, investigators suspect possible collusion between Casino and Nicolas Miguet who could have been paid by Casino to defend its stock price. This police custody comes as the group, which is unable to sufficiently reduce its large debt, entered the conciliation procedure on Friday.