An investigation, in particular for misuse of corporate assets, was opened in mid-May following a complaint against X filed by Orpea after an internal investigation, the Nanterre public prosecutor’s office reported on Wednesday, June 8, requested by the Agence France-Presse (AFP). This investigation is separate from that which led this Wednesday to the search of the headquarters and regional offices of Orpea.
Orpea’s complaint, filed in April, aims, according to the company, “past facts and operations (…) likely to raise questions with regard to Orpea’s corporate interest and discovered following internal investigations”.
According to a survey of Mediapart and the collective of journalists Investigate Europe, published on May 18, the Luxembourg holding Lipany, created in 2007, has “accumulated 92 million in assets”, “mainly shares in many nursing homes and clinics managed by Orpea”in France and in three other European countries, and “carried out questionable financial transactions”.
Lipany belongs, according to Mediapart, to Roberto Tribuno, an accountant and tax adviser who was the boss of Orpea in Italy. This holding “makes almost no profit and has never distributed dividends”and its activities are “fully debt-financed” so “at least opaque”says the investigative media. “The Orpea group itself suspects that operations carried out with the Luxembourg company would have been used to embezzle money”highlighted Mediapart. The investigation was entrusted to the research section of Versailles, communicated the public ministry.
Several investigations in progress
Under fire from critics since the publication, at the end of January, of the book The Gravediggers, Orpea is also the subject of an investigation opened in Nanterre, at the end of April, on suspicion of institutional mistreatment or financial offences. In this context, the headquarters of Orpea and the regional offices of the group were searched on Wednesday. After the revelation of these searches, Orpea shares fell by more than 3% on Wednesday on the Paris Stock Exchange.
Orpea is also under investigation for “forgery and use of forgery and violation of labor legislation by abusive use of fixed-term contracts”. This investigation was joined to that on mistreatment of the elderly. Complaints have also been filed by residents or their relatives.
In addition, the former general manager of the group for more than ten years, Yves Le Masne, sacked at the end of January, was heard in free hearing Tuesday as part of an investigation opened by the National Financial Prosecutor’s Office for ” insider trading” concerning his resale of shares, shortly before the publication of Victor Castanet’s book.