The former CEO of Areva, Anne Lauvergeon, was indicted on May 16 for obstruction in the financial case surrounding the 2007 acquisition of the mining company Uramin, sources close to the matter and judicial sources revealed on Tuesday.
Legal Missteps
“This supplementary indictment (…) is another example of the judicial missteps in this 15-year-old case,” condemned Me Fanny Colin, Anne Lauvergeon’s lawyer, to AFP. She pointed out the “multiple inconsistencies” in the case and “an irremediable contradiction that demonstrates the baselessness of the accusation.”
This new indictment follows six years of appeals to the investigative chamber of the Paris Court of Appeal and the Court of Cassation, due to differing interpretations of the case between the national financial prosecutor’s office (PNF) and the investigating judges.
Financial Allegations
In this financial case, the former chairwoman of the Areva board (2001-2010), now known as Orano, was already facing charges of presenting inaccurate accounts and disseminating misleading information.
Ms. Lauvergeon and other former officials of the nuclear giant are suspected of presenting inaccurate accounts to hide the collapse in Uramin’s value. This Canadian mining company, which owned three uranium deposits in Africa, was acquired by Areva for 1.8 billion euros in 2007.
Operational Challenges
Facing operational difficulties with the deposits and a lower-than-expected uranium content, Areva was forced to record significant provisions in 2011, just months after Anne Lauvergeon’s departure.
Two judicial investigations have been open since 2015 regarding the Uramin acquisition: one for fraud and corruption during the acquisition, and another concerning the provisions recorded by Areva.
Prosecutor’s Demands
In 2017, the investigating judges announced the closure of the financial case, but the PNF requested additional prosecutions, particularly for obstructing the auditors’ duties. The PNF argued that officials had concealed crucial information to obtain certification of the group’s accounts.
After a legal battle, the investigative chamber sided with the PNF in June 2022, and the following year, the Court of Cassation rejected the defense’s appeals.
Indictments Issued
The investigating judge handling the case proceeded between January and May with the indictments of Anne Lauvergeon, her right-hand man at the time Gérard Arbola, Sébastien de Montessus, former head of the mining division, CFO Nicolas Nouveau, and Alain-Pierre Raynaud, former group CFO.
Only a former financial management director escaped prosecution: the judge determined there was insufficient evidence against him, according to his lawyer Me Martin Reynaud and judicial sources.