Seven people have been indicted, two of whom have been imprisoned, after the dismantling in Besançon of a vast network of driver’s license fraud, public prosecutor Étienne Manteaux announced on Thursday.
The suspects have been indicted for organized fraud, Coats said at a press conference. The two people placed in pre-trial detention are the manager of several driving schools located in Besançon and a driving license inspector working for the departmental direction of the territories (DDT) of Doubs, he added.
The other five people were placed under judicial supervision. An eighth indictment was pronounced against SARL Auto-Ecole Bisontine as a legal person, added the magistrate.
Anonymous letters
The case started in the summer of 2022, when two people denounced the conditions in which the driving license tests took place. The Besançon prosecutor’s office then received anonymous letters. The judicial investigation opened in November 2022 had brought to light a vast network of driving license fraud.
“People who have failed the driving license test on several occasions have informed the manager of the driving school that they are ready to take it again with a conciliatory inspector, for a fee”, explained Manteaux. “Very quickly, a large number of people from all over France contacted the driving school to register for the exam. The purchase price of the driving licence”, which reached 2,000 euros, “made it possible to remunerate the intermediary, the driving school and the driving license inspector”, added the magistrate.
More than 200 fraudulent permits
“Between 200 and 300 permits were issued fraudulently for damage amounting to 400,000 euros,” said Juliette Dupoux, head of departmental security at the Besançon police station. More than 300,000 euros in cash were seized, as well as 115,000 euros from the driving school’s bank account and 73,000 euros from the manager’s home.
“The investigation must now identify all the people who obtained the license fraudulently so that the title can be canceled administratively. The beneficiaries of this fraud (…) mostly do not speak French” and “have only received limited training in driving”, she added.