Yves Le Masne had sold shares for nearly 600,000 euros in July, three weeks after the management of Orpea learned of the forthcoming publication of the book The Gravediggers.
The Orpea affair rebounds on the legal ground. A preliminary investigation for insider trading now targets Yves Le Masne, the former CEO of Orpea, landed on January 30 by the board of directors. The National Financial Prosecutor’s Office wishes to study the circumstances in which the manager sold Orpea shares on July 29 for 588,000 euros. The operation, revealed on February 2 by The chained Duck , took place three weeks after the management of Orpea was officially informed of the publication of the investigation by Victor Castanet. His book, The Gravediggers , accuses the company of mistreatment, points to dubious financial practices and designates Yves Le Masne as one of the three instigators of an “Orpea system”. On June 21, Orpea received a list of 56 questions from the journalist; on July 6, the company declined to respond.
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In his defence, Yves Le Masne – whom those around him say is very affected by the affair and its questioning – had assured at the beginning of February in a press release sent by his lawyer that the sale of“about one third of (its) shares” did not have “nothing to do with M. Castanet’s book, which did not cause (them) any particular concern”. He clarified that he had no ” no reason “ to sell more shares, “having full confidence in the future of the company”. “Mid-summer is when I usually sell stocks, as my statements published earlier show,” added the former leader, and “I have always carried out my share sales within the authorized periods and made all regulatory declarations to the competent authorities”.
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Proof of the lack of importance he attached to this book, Yves Le Masne – who had been aware for many months of the preparation of the investigation – would not, according to our information, have deemed it necessary to warn his counsel administration.