The High Authority for the Transparency of Public Life (HATVP) took the case of former minister Caroline Cayeux to justice on Tuesday, suspecting a “false assessment of her assets” and “tax fraud”, according to a press release. Caroline Cayeux resigned on Monday from her post as Minister Delegate for Local Authorities. She claimed to have “taken into account the observations” of the HATVP on the evaluation of her heritage and to have “aligned”, deploring that her “sincerity” continues to be put “in doubt”.
“Significant reductions in the value of his property”
Chaired by Didier Migaud, the High Authority, during a meeting on Tuesday of its college, “decided to inform the public prosecutor of facts likely to characterize criminal offenses”. On the one hand, Caroline Cayeux’s initial declaration of assets “included significant reductions in the value of her property, of the order of 2.4 million euros for her main residence located in Paris and 1.5 million euros for a house located in Ille-et-Vilaine, i.e. a reduction of around half of the overall value of these two properties”.
According to press reports, these properties are located in Place de l’Alma (Paris 16th) and in Dinard. Caroline Cayeux “could not ignore the fair value”, estimates the independent authority, which had alerted her on the occasion of her declaration of assets as mayor of Beauvais in 2021. Thus, the filing on November 23 of declarations amendments by the former minister “does not however eliminate” the offense of misleading valuation of his heritage.
On the other hand, “the High Authority, empowered by law to supervise the verification of the tax situation of members of the government, notes that these facts are also likely to constitute the offense of tax evasion”, adds this body. Caroline Cayeux will have to file within two months a declaration of interests and a declaration of financial situation at the end of the term of office, which will be published after verification by the High Authority.
“Do not hinder the action of the government”
The declarations of interests and assets of the other members of the government will be published on Thursday on the HATVP website. Caroline Cayeux said she had decided to resign “so as not to hinder the action of the government”. His attributions were taken over by his colleague in charge of Rurality, Dominique Faure.
Ex-figure of the RPR, the UMP then the LR, Caroline Cayeux, representative according to her words of the “social right”, had been the subject of a controversy upon her arrival in the government at the beginning of July, because of remarks dating of 2013. She then described marriage for all and adoption for same-sex couples as “reform of whim and design that goes against nature”.