Ten to twelve months suspended prison sentence. This is what had been required against the Minister Delegate in charge of small and medium-sized enterprises, Alain Griset, in his trial for “Incomplete or false declaration of his financial situation”. It was finally to six months suspended prison sentence and a three-year suspended ineligibility sentence that he was sentenced, Wednesday, December 8, by the judges of the 11e chamber of the Paris Criminal Court. The Minister’s lawyer, absent at the hearing, Mr.e Patrick Maisonneuve immediately announced that he was going to appeal.
In government since July 2020, Mr. Griset was the current Prime Minister to appear before a criminal court, for having failed to declare, in August 2020, after his appointment, part of his assets and his interests to the High Authority for transparency of public life (HATVP). He was suspected of having intentionally concealed from this body the holding of a stock savings plan (PEA) of 171,000 euros, as well as “Direct participations” in several companies, such as Française des jeux or Natixis.
Also in question, a sum of 130,000 euros placed in his PEA, which belonged to the National Confederation of Crafts, Trades and Services (Cnams) of the North, an inter-professional organization that Mr. Griset had headed since 1991.
“Badly advised” by “knowing”
In court, Mr. Griset argued that he had received in August 2019 “Mandate” of Cnams for “Make this sum grow over a short period in order to buy a property”. He had, in passing, congratulated himself on the capital gain of 19,000 euros achieved in eleven months. “My mandate was to manage this money as president of Cnams. Not being president any more, this mandate ended. This money did not belong to me. He never belonged to me before being a minister, and even less after ”, he argued.
The HATVP took legal action in November 2020 after noting the omission of M. Griset. For the institution, the main purpose of omitting a declaration was “To prevent the revelation of facts liable to receive the criminal qualification of breach of trust”.
The prosecutor recalled that Cnams, as a legal person, did not have the right to open a PEA reserved for natural persons. “I was badly advised”, explained Mr. Griset at the hearing, rejecting ” awkwardness “ on his banker, accountants and others “Knowing who told me nothing”. During his trial, Mr. Griset, 68, a former taxi craftsman from northern France, pleaded the ” clumsiness “ and rejected all “Dishonesty”.
His lawyer had pleaded for acquittal, stressing that his client had “No account abroad, no shell company and that there was no massive tax evasion”. In case of conviction, “I will continue as long as the president [Emmanuel Macron] me [fera] confidence “, the minister said in mid-September.