Several Monegasque Officials Charged With Corruption In Rybolovlev Case - Reports

Several Monegasque Officials Charged With Corruption in Rybolovlev Case - Reports

Several senior Monegasque government officials, including the chief of the Criminal Investigation Division, have been charged with corruption and influence peddling as part of the bribery probe into Russian billionaire Dmitry Rybolovlev, local media reported on Friday.

MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 09th November, 2018) Several senior Monegasque government officials, including the chief of the Criminal Investigation Division, have been charged with corruption and influence peddling as part of the bribery probe into Russian billionaire Dmitry Rybolovlev, local media reported on Friday.

According to the Monaco Matin newspaper, Head of Monaco's Criminal Investigation Division Christophe Haget and his assistant, Patrick Fusari, were indicted on Thursday for "passive influence peddling, passive corruption, violation of the secrecy of investigation and/or disclosure of professional secrets."

The news outlet said that the same charges had been pressed against former Monegasque Interior Minister Paul Masseron and former chief of the Interior Ministry's Police Department Regis Asso.

Charges have been brought against Tetiana Bersheda, Rybolovlev's lawyer, as well as the spouse of former Monegasque Justice Minister Philippe Narmino and their son, according to media reports.

The Russian tycoon was detained on Tuesday, reportedly over suspicions of corruption and influence peddling. The prosecution told Sputnik on Wednesday that Rybolovlev did face charges but did not specify what they were. The billionaire's legal team later said that he had been released without a travel ban but was under court-mandated supervision

On Thursday media reported that the former justice minister had been indicted for passive and active influence peddling, and passive corruption in connection to the Rybolovlev case. Narmino had resigned in September 2017 amid reports of Justice Ministry officials secretly participating in the so-called Bouvier Affair � a litigation between Rybolovlev and Swiss businessman and art dealer Yves Bouvier, who has been accused of defrauding his clients.

On Tuesday, Le Monde newspaper reported that it had obtained DVDs containing information about the Monegasque police and judiciary regarding the Bouvier affair. According to the newspaper, the Russian tycoon turned to Bersheda in an attempt to influence the legal process.

The outlet also said that hundreds of SMS messages on Bersheda's cell phone contained information about Rybolovlev's meetings with Narmino and the billionaire's gifts to the then-Monegasque justice minister.