Claude Guéant was imprisoned this Monday morning at the Health prison, pursuant to his conviction in 2017 in the case of cash bonuses from the Ministry of the Interior, said his lawyer and the Paris general prosecutor’s office. The former grand state clerk, aged 76, was sentenced to two years’ imprisonment, one of which was firm and a fine of 75,000 euros on appeal in January 2017, a sentence that became final two years later after the dismissal of his cassation appeal. He had since served that sentence on parole.
An “extremely difficult” situation for him
The case dates back to the early 2000s. Justice accuses him of having paid himself 5,000 euros in cash bonus each month between 2002 and 2004, bonuses then taken from an envelope intended for the costs of investigation and surveillance of the police. . This money was indeed supposed to reward “deserving” police officers. According to justice, Claude Guéant kept part of it for himself and distributed another to some of his collaborators. Since his conviction he paid 3,000 euros each month to pay his fine as well as damages.
Only on November 9, the Penalty Enforcement Chamber of the Paris Court of Appeal revoked this conditional freedom. She believes that Claude Guéant could have paid more. According to the national financial prosecutor’s office, he has only settled 36% of his debt of around 190,000 euros to the public treasury at this stage. He presented himself this Monday morning to the service of the execution of sentences of the public prosecutor’s office of Paris and therefore was imprisoned in the wake of the prison of Health.
Guest on Europe Midi on Monday, Maître Philippe Bouchez-El Ghozi, Claude Guéant’s lawyer estimated that his client is in a state of “depression”. “He finds himself soon to be 77 years old, in a difficult medical situation, living in prison on the grounds that he has not paid enough […] The revocation of his stay was ordered because it was considered that he should pay more. The problem is that to pay more, you have to have more and he doesn’t have this money, “he said at the microphone of Europe 1.” So the situation is extremely difficult for him. “
His state of health “incompatible” with imprisonment
According to his lawyer, the charges against Claude Guéant are based in particular on investigations carried out to examine his heritage. “He sold some goods to help his children who were in a difficult situation and he was told that he had to first promote the payment of the state debt. While he considered that by already paying 3,000 euros per month, he did what he could, “continued Maître Philippe Bouchez-El Ghozi.
The lawyer finally affirmed that he was going to ask for an adjustment of sentence for Claude Guéant. “I will soon seize the judge of application of sentences to request an adjustment of the sentence from several elements. I will also wait to see what will decide the doctors of the prison of Health, since the doctors who followed him certified in writing that the state of detention was absolutely incompatible with his medical situation, “he said.
“Claude Guéant knows a certain number of rather serious medical problems, rather sensitive, with heavy treatments. And this is the reason why his own doctors consider that an imprisonment is not possible”. Doctors from the Health Prison are due to give their verdict in the coming days. On paper, the former minister can stay behind bars for up to nine months.