Altice Chairman Patrick Drahi arrives for a hearing before a parliamentary committee on media concentration in the Senate, in Paris on February 2, 2022 (AFP/STEPHANE DE SAKUTIN)
Patrick Drahi, boss of the Altice group, splashed by a corruption scandal in Portugal, told analysts on Monday that he felt “betrayed and deceived by a small group of individuals” and announced “extensive international investigations” internal.
During his first speech since the outbreak of the case, Mr. Drahi also assured that this scandal would have “no impact” on the finances and forecasts of its branch Altice International, the results of which were presented on Monday.
“If these allegations are true, I feel betrayed and cheated by a small group of individuals, including one of our oldest colleagues,” he said, referring to Armando Pereira.
Armando Pereira, 71, Patrick Drahi’s right-hand man, was arrested in Lisbon on July 13 and indicted as part of an investigation into corruption and money laundering.
“A few individuals, especially in the buying arm, carefully concealed their actions from me, their colleagues and the whole group,” Drahi continued. “These people have, if these allegations are true, taken advantage of their position at the expense of the group, and therefore at my personal expense as well,” he said.
He also acknowledged that “Altice entities outside Portugal have done business with some of the suppliers identified by the Portuguese authorities”.
“We take this matter very seriously,” he said, ensuring that we act “quickly to understand the truth and protect the group from any harm in the event that the allegations are founded”.
“In Portugal, we are cooperating fully with the authorities. We are carrying out extensive international investigations in a number of countries, together with specialized law firms, in order to carry out an independent examination,” he added.
The group has already started cleaning up. After the arrest of Mr. Pereira, Altice suspended Tatiana Agova-Bregou, the executive director of content, acquisitions and partnerships, implicated in listening to Portuguese justice.
In addition, Alexandre Fonseca, co-CEO of Altice, former executive chairman of Altice Portugal and appointed in March at the head of the American subsidiary, communicated himself on LinkedIn his withdrawal.
Yossi Benchetrit, head of purchasing in the United States and son-in-law of Armando Pereira, has been “fired”, announced the new leader of Altice USA, Dennis Mathew.
This case comes at a time when the group is weakened by its overall debt of nearly 60 billion euros.
© 2023 AFP
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