2023-08-03 14:30:00
First shock in France after the revelation of a corruption scandal in the Iberian Peninsula, which is worth an indictment to the co-founder of Altice in Portugal. A leader of the telecommunications group, parent company of SFR, was indeed suspended from office on Wednesday August 2 as part of an internal investigation.
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During a social and economic committee (CSE), Arthur Dreyfuss, CEO of Altice France, reported having suspended the executive director of content, acquisitions and partnerships of the group, Tatiana Agova-Bregou, implicated in listening to the Portuguese justice, union sources told AFP.
The leader of Altice disputes everything ” wrongdoing »
« The UNSa expects the internal investigation to ensure that there is no system of predation of wealth inside the group “, declared the majority union within the group during the CSE. The social actors voted unanimously for a resolution demanding ” the greatest transparency on the audits that will be carried out in the Altice France group » et « the opening of a discussion to agree on the terms of participation of elected officials and their expert in surveys and audits ».
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Other measures could be taken in France, ” in the next few days or weeks “Warned Arthur Dreyfuss during the CSE, without it being, according to him, a “ witch hunt “. For her part, the suspended Altice leader disputes everything ” wrongdoing “, According to a press release from his lawyers sent to AFP on Thursday.
« Tatiana Agova-Bregou (…) is surprised that her name is associated with the alleged financial embezzlement allegedly committed by people within the Altice group “, write Avi Bitton, Nelson de Oliveira and Lois Pamela Lesot in the press release.
Several leaders already suspended
« She considers that she has demonstrated probity throughout her exemplary professional career. She is at the disposal of justice, if she were to be heard, and recalls that she is not the subject of any summons to court to date. “, they add. According to Portuguese media, Tatiana Agova-Bregou would have benefited from luxurious gifts and a property in the Paris region from Armando Pereira. However, the latter is at the heart of the scandal which led the investigators to carry out a series of searches, in particular at the headquarters of Altice in Lisbon.
As a reminder, Armando Pereira founded Altice with French billionaire Patrick Drahi. For a year, he was still the adviser to the CEO and the executive committee of Altice France. In fact, he is notably accused of having set up a network of dubious suppliers, at the center of the group’s purchasing policy, and through which he would have taken large sums. Pursued with four other people and assigned to residence, Armando Pereira is suspected in this case of eleven offenses of corruption and money laundering. He refuted, through his lawyer, the suspicions hanging over him.
Since July 13 and the revelation of a search at the headquarters of Altice Portugal, the case splashes the whole group. Several leaders have already been suspended, including the CEO of Altice USA, Alexandre Fonseca, appointed last March and previously at the head of the Portuguese subsidiary.
An expected speech
Rarely, Patrick Drahi plans to speak to investors and creditors on August 7 and 8, on the occasion of the half-year results of Altice France and Altice International. The leaders of the group claim for the moment to have discovered these practices on July 13. ” We are never betrayed except by our own “Said Arthur Dreyfuss on Wednesday, eager to open” a new page ».
But concern and bitterness dominate among employees, who had fought against a major social plan in 2021, while the group is faced with a heavy debt which worries the markets at a time when interest rates are rising.
(With AFP)
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