An industrial flagship, Areva, now dismantled. A bubbling boss, Anne Lauvergeon, who was for a long time the incarnation of nuclear power, suspected of having masked the discomfiture of Uramin (this mining company bought in 2007 by Areva) to be reappointed. A funny report from the Court of Auditors, which has – extremely rare – never been published. Two judicial inquiries opened in 2015. Judges who, according to our information, have just indicted the husband of Anne Lauvergeon, Olivier Fric, for insider trading.
While, in full judicial acceleration, lawyers, communicators and lobbyists are busy behind the scenes, going so far as to supply the newspapers with white notes (neither dated nor signed) hostile to Anne Lauvergeon, our newspaper has called on the various key players in this file, questioning them on the many elements of counter-investigation that we have accumulated.
Anne Lauvergeon? Clinging to the “facts”, the former boss of Areva, who gave us her first interview in a year, argues with conviction, while awaiting her summons to the judges – the date of March 25 has been postponed for several weeks. The officials of Areva or those of the supervisory authorities of the public company? Many took refuge in an awkward silence. As for the former boss of Areva mines Sébastien de Montessus, who accused Atomic Anne of not having sufficiently depreciated its balance sheet in 2010, some of his criticisms seem not to stand up to the test of facts.
Atomic Anne will have to explain herself to the judges
What if the “state affair” linked to Uramin was elsewhere? What if Anne Lauvergeon, who herself admits having made mistakes, had been the perfect scapegoat? Weakening it, pointing to the “catastrophic” depreciation of Uramin (much less than other recent depreciations, such as at Total or Engie) clearly gave arguments to the supporters of a dismantling of Areva. And discredited, in passing, a woman presented in 2014 by “Paris Match” as the ideal Minister of Finance of the French. “By banning commissions in Africa, Anne Lauvergeon has also thwarted very large private and political interests”, deciphers a specialist in the sector. Before long, Atomic Anne will still have to explain herself to the judges, at least on the “presentation of accounts” aspect. Will she escape, or not, an indictment in this part of the case? Impossible to know. One thing is certain. She will arrive in front of the judges with her graphics and more combative than ever.
The key players in a very political dossier
Areva et l’Etat. Believing that Uramin had been purchased “at a high price”, implying too expensive, Areva filed a civil action. To which Anne Lauvergeon replies that, in a multinational, strategic decisions are validated at several levels: the auditors, like the State Participations Agency, gave a stamp before the purchase of Uramin. This does not exclude pilot errors. But the responsibility is then collective.
Sebastian de Montessus. The former boss of the mining department was at the head of a division of 50,000 employees, a state within a state. He claims to have sounded the alarm, for Lauvergeon to further provision losses linked to Uramin. But why did he do nothing in July 2011, once it left, when he was on the board? He who dreamed of privatizing the mining department, did he play the card of dramatization to convince the Elysée to dismantle Areva?
Henri Proglio. From 2009, barely appointed by Nicolas Sarkozy as head of EDF, Henri Proglio, Anne Lauvergeon’s best enemy, declared that EDF “aims to coordinate the nuclear industry” in France. The desired dismantling of Areva will finally take effect in 2015.
Francois Roussely. Former president of EDF then, in 2010, of Crédit suisse Europe, friend of Proglio, Roussely is the author of a report commissioned by the Elysée in 2010 in which he recommended opening up the capital of the mines division of Areva. Credit Suisse was then the advisory bank for the Qatari fund, which was to acquire a stake. Fukushima swept away this privatization project.
Olivier Fric. Energy consultant, the husband of Anne Lauvergeon is indicted for insider trading. Many describe a man “very impressed with his wife”. Over the emails collected by the investigators, when he speaks of Areva, “Olivier Fric is often wrong”, points out a lawyer, which goes in the direction of a real seal between his wife and him.