MP Hubert Julien-Laferrière, suspected of corruption in a case of foreign interference, announced Thursday that he was leaving the environmental group to “preserve the serenity of the parliamentary work of his colleagues”. In a press release sent by his lawyer to AFP following a Radio France investigation, the MP “discovered for the umpteenth time in the press the accusations made against him” and deplored a “violation of the secrecy of the investigation “.
If he “strongly refutes the accusations against him, he wishes to do so within the framework of the current legal proceedings and, at this stage, nowhere else. Pending this hearing which he wishes to see fixed as soon as possible, he withdraws from the parliamentary group of environmentalists in order to preserve the serenity of the parliamentary work of his colleagues,” it is written. In a separate press release, the environmentalist deputies confirmed this departure and underlined that the Radio France investigation “reveals new information, hitherto unknown to the Ecologist Group. The actions described, if proven, contravene the imperative of probity, which must govern political life”, they believe.
The group will go from 23 to 22 deputies
Former socialist, macronist then ecologist, Hubert Julien-Laferrière is suspected of having promoted a cryptocurrency in exchange for possible counterparties. His office was raided at the National Assembly at the end of September. Financial magistrates are wondering whether the elected official from Rhône would have praised LimoCoin in February 2022, a cryptocurrency which turned out to be a scam, at the request of lobbyist Jean-Pierre Duthion and against possible counterparties.
The investigations are carried out as part of the investigation opened by the National Financial Prosecutor’s Office (PNF) in particular into counts of influence peddling, corruption of a French public official and private corruption, which also targets suspicions of foreign interference, in particular via Mr. Duthion, in the work of ex-BFMTV journalist Rachid M’Barki. The Radio France investigation highlights the MP’s relations with the political scientist specializing in Qatar Nabil Ennasri, indicted and placed in pre-trial detention in October.