The Paris prosecutor’s office has taken up an investigation for “organized gang scam” within the company Go Sport, paving the way for an extension of the investigations to all of the companies of the businessman Michel Ohayon, currently in turmoil.
The investigation, initially opened for “abuse of social good” by the Grenoble public prosecutor’s office, will now be carried out under the aegis of the National Jurisdiction for the Fight against Organized Crime (Junalco), indicated the deputy prosecutor of the Isère public prosecutor’s office François Touret de Coucy to the press, confirming information from Le Monde. The offenses sought were extended by the Paris prosecutor’s office to “organized gang fraud, habitual money laundering, bankruptcy and abuse of social property”, also specified the magistrate.
According to Le Monde, the investigation could thus be extended to all the companies of the Financière immobilière bordelaise (FIB), investment fund of the businessman Michel Ohayon and its distribution branch HPB (Hermione, People & Brands ), parent company of Go Sport.
“The national competence of Junalco allows it to extend the investigations, according to the investigation strategy which will be fixed by the Paris prosecutor’s office”, confirmed François Touret de Coucy. The Paris prosecutor’s office confirmed that Junalco was seized, without further details, in particular on the scope of the investigations.
Suspicious “punctures”
The Grenoble public prosecutor’s office announced in January that it had opened a preliminary investigation three months earlier for “abuse of social good”, after the auditors of Go Sport had transmitted to justice “several revelations of criminal facts” within the group. .
Liberation, citing sources familiar with the matter at the time, said that the investigators were interested in two suspicious “drains” on the cash flow of Go Sport, totaling more than 50 million euros, while the chain of stores of sport had benefited from two loans guaranteed by the State, amounting to 55 million euros, to help it overcome its difficulties at the time of the health crisis.
The first, of nearly 18 million euros, would have been used to pay the salaries of the ready-to-wear company Camaïeu – which also belonged to HPB – just before its liquidation in early December. The second, of 36 million euros, would have been used to finance the purchase of the network of 21 Gap clothing stores, bought for one euro by HPB, to integrate them into Go Sport. HPB announced on January 12 “the acquisition of GAP France by Go Sport” for an amount of 38 million.
A group in turmoil
Go Sport, founded in 1978 and based in Sassenage, in the suburbs of Grenoble, was bought by HPB at the end of 2021 for a symbolic euro from the parent company of the Casino food distribution group, the Rallye company, itself heavily in debt. Michel Ohayon has made a name for himself in recent years by taking over other retail brands, often at low prices or before the courts: Go Sport, Camaïeu but also certain stores in Galeries Lafayette, La Grande Récré, Gap France and Café Légal. .
Several companies in the Bordeaux businessman’s group are now in difficulty, in the wake of the sudden liquidation of the Camaïeu brand in September. The FIB, Michel Ohayon’s holding company, declared itself insolvent on February 7 and a week later, the Bordeaux commercial court placed it in receivership.
Also, the Go Sport group and SAS Go sport France have been placed in receivership in recent weeks and Gap France could suffer the same fate on Wednesday before the Grenoble commercial court. In addition, the Bordeaux Commercial Court last week placed the twenty-six Galeries Lafayette brands owned by Michel Ohayon in safeguard proceedings, while pronouncing a salvo of legal redress for other companies of the businessman. .