Michel Ohayon remains in the storm. While the approval of the safeguard plan for the 26 Galeries Lafayette department stores that it owns should be pronounced by the judges of the Bordeaux commercial court on March 20, AFP revealed, Thursday, February 29, that the home of the Bordeaux businessman and his office were the subject of searches carried out by the national jurisdiction for the fight against organized crime (Junalco) at the beginning of February.
At the beginning of the year, a judicial investigation was opened on “facts likely to be qualified as organized gang fraud, money laundering aggravated by habitual assistance in an investment transaction, concealment or conversion of the proceeds of a crime, bankruptcy by embezzlement or concealment of all or part of the assets, and misuse of the property or credit of a joint stock company by a director for personal gain”, details Junalco, Thursday. Searches were carried out in February at the Parisian home of Michel Ohayon, according to AFP.
According to our information, the home of his eldest son, Charles-David Ohayon, who notably manages the Trianon Palace hotels in Versailles, Sheraton in Roissy, in Val-d’Oise, and InterContinental in Bordeaux, bought with 201 million of euros in loans taken out from the Bank of China and not repaid to date, was also the subject of searches. Requested by The world, one of the Bordeaux entrepreneur’s lawyers did not respond.
Backup procedure
In February 2023, Junalco took charge of the various legal files of the Bordeaux entrepreneur. This referral followed reports and complaints received by the public prosecutor’s offices of Lille, Grenoble and Bordeaux, “at the end of 2022 and beginning of 2023, concerning suspicions of misappropriation committed to harm”notably the Gap, Camaïeu and Go Sport brands, said a Junalco spokesperson today at World.
The Bordeaux entrepreneur, who, thanks to his company Financièreimmobilier bordelaise (FIB), made his fortune in real estate in New Aquitaine and in luxury hotels, had taken over the three clothing brands thanks to procedures collective or transfer for 1 symbolic euro.
He remains at the head of the 26 Galeries Lafayette, 22 of which were bought in 2018 for an amount of 150 million euros and 4 others for 1 euro in 2022, according to our information. This set is the subject of a safeguard procedure opened in February 2023 and which must close on March 20 with the approval of Mr. Ohayon’s plan, presented and endorsed by the majority of stakeholders, including the prosecution, on February 21. To the great dismay of its 1,100 employees. Staff representatives spoke out against this plan. Most say they no longer have “completely confident” towards the entrepreneur who operates these franchise stores.
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