The secretary general of the Elysée, Alexis Kohler, was indicted on September 23 for “illegal taking of interests”, announced the National Financial Prosecutor’s Office (PNF), Monday October 3, confirming information from France Info . Mr Kohler “was, moreover, placed under the status of witness assisted by the influence peddler. No judicial control measures have been taken against him.said the PNF in a press release.
The case was born after the publication in 2018 of several articles by Mediapart revealing Mr Kohler’s family ties to the Aponte family, the largest shareholder in Italian-Swiss sea freight operator Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC). And this while Mr. Kohler had been led to take a position on this file on behalf of the State, as deputy director of the State Participation Agency, between 2010 and 2012, then on related issues, at the Ministry of Economy between 2012 and 2016.
The PNF had opened a preliminary investigation, which he had dismissed in August 2019, considering that the analysis of the elements collected “did not (allow) to characterize the offenses initially suspected”. But the anti-corruption association Anticor obtained the relaunch of the investigations in June 2020 thanks to a complaint with the constitution of a civil party, which most of the time allows the appointment of an investigating judge.
Kohler denies ‘any wrongdoing’
Alexis Kohler “Strongly denies having committed any offence”assured, in a press release, his lawyer, Mr.e Eric Dezeuze. “Without taking into consideration at this stage the many objective exculpatory elements, Alexis Kohler was placed under the status of indicted for illegal taking of interests for facts that may date back more than ten years”explains M.e Dezeuze, asserting that “the rest of the procedure, to which he now has access” was going to “allow him to demonstrate his innocence”.
MSC is an important customer of the company STX France (now renamed Chantiers de l’Atlantique) which manages the shipyards of Saint-Nazaire. Alexis Kohler, the right and faithful arm of the president, is an extremely discreet man, keeping away from the media.
This 49-year-old senior civil servant has held the strategic position of secretary general of the Elysée since the start of the first five-year term. Installed in an office next to the president, he manages emergency situations, major economic and social issues, but also political ones on a daily basis.