They were all placed under judicial supervision. The mayor of Monaco Georges Marsan and four other people were indicted last week for corruption, announced the principality’s attorney general Stéphane Thibault in a press release.
Initially, six people were taken into custody in this case, in the context of which several searches were carried out at the end of last week. A judicial investigation is opened on the counts of “active” and “passive corruption against a national public official”, “active and passive influence peddling”, “illegal taking of interest by a national public official” and “criminal association” . As the investigations continue, the magistrate specifies that it is “not possible to disclose more information on the investigation, which is covered by secrecy”.
Georges Marsan has since reacted, ensuring, according to comments reported by Monaco-Morning : “I believe I am the subject of abusive measures and real relentlessness. I have never taken advantage of my position. I look forward to my innocence being established.”
Europe calls for “fundamental improvements” in Monaco
This new case of alleged corruption, after in particular that arising from the conflict between the Russian billionaire Dmitri Rybolovlev, owner of AS Monaco, and the Swiss art dealer Yves Bouvier, involving several local personalities, comes at a time when the Principality is under pressure from Europe.
In January, Moneyval, the Council of Europe’s anti-money laundering body, published a report calling for “fundamental improvements to strengthen the effectiveness of the supervision of money laundering investigations and prosecutions and confiscation proceeds of crime. When this document was published, the Monegasque government promised to “comply with the best international standards”.