The investigation, to verify accusations of favoritism against a senior official of the Paris-2024 Games – Michaël Aloïsio – was closed in January, declared, Wednesday February 21, the National Financial Prosecutor’s Office (PNF) , requested by Agence France-Presse (AFP). The procedure was closed “no action taken on January 18 for lack of offense”confirmed the public prosecutor.
“The elements exploited did not make it possible to suspect an attack on the principles of equal treatment of candidates, transparency of procedures or freedom of access to public procurement, nor of influence peddling”specified the PNF.
“This decision to dismiss was expected: it was necessary in the face of a totally fanciful and slanderous complaint” welcomed Mr. Aloïsio’s lawyer, Julie Fabreguettes.
Mr. Aloïsio, Deputy Director General of the Organizing Committee for the Olympic and Paralympic Games (Cojop) of Paris-2024, was the subject of an investigation since last September, after a complaint, filed at the end of August by Sébastien Chesbeuf, for favoritism and Bribery. This former Cojop employee, now a consultant for the organization of sporting events, and whose lawyer did not immediately respond to AFP, was in conflict with Mr. Aloïsio.
In his complaint, Mr. Chesbeuf denounced the conditions for awarding a public contract issued in 2023 by the Provence-Alpes-Côte-d’Azur (PACA) region to constitute its pre-candidacy file for the 2030 Winter Olympics. He accused Mr. Aloïsio of having favored another agency, founded by a current Paris-2024 executive.
While he worked as a consultant with the sports marketing event company Keneo, Mr. Chesbeuf assured that Mr. Aloïsio had intervened with the office of the president of the PACA region, Renaud Muselier, to dissuade him from working with them and promote RNK company, a company co-founded at the end of 2020 by Edouard Donnelly.
Four financial investigations
The latter left the company in November 2022, when he joined Cojop as executive director of operations, raising suspicions of conflicts of interest.
The organization of the Olympic and Paralympic Games in Paris, desired “exemplars” by the president of the organizing committee, Tony Estanguet, is currently the subject of four separate financial investigations, relating in particular to the latter’s remuneration, or to suspicions of favoritism during the award of contracts.
In particular, the markets for the emblematic opening ceremony, scheduled for July 26, 2024 on the Seine in Paris, or that of the Olympic torch relay are analyzed.