Berliner Tageblatt - French ex-spy chief cops suspended jail term for 15 mn euro shakedown

Bernard Bajolet, who led France's Directorate General for External Security (DGSE) from 2013 to 2017, was found to have orchestrated an attempt to coerce 15 million euros ($17.5 million) out of a businessman embroiled in a financial dispute with the service.

His conviction brings to a close a 10-year-long investigation full of legal twists and turns, with the trial prompting scrutiny into the workings of the entire foreign intelligence service the 76-year-old once commanded.

On March 12, 2016, French-Swiss dual national Alain Dumenil, who was involved in financial disputes with the DGSE worth millions of euros, was stopped by border police at Paris's biggest airport as he prepared to embark on a flight to Switzerland.

After the officers brought the businessman to the airport's police station on the pretext of needing to check his passport, two plainclothes DGSE agents told Dumenil that he had to repay the French state 15 million euros ($17.3 million).

The agents threatened Dumenil -- whose financial dealings had led to his being placed under formal investigation for bankruptcy -- including by showing him a photo album of his loved ones and insinuating that they were being watched and followed.

After the businessman became enraged and said he would file a complaint, the agents slipped away.

The ex-spy chief and his lawyers declined to comment on Thursday after the verdict.

During the November trial, Bajolet admitted that he had authorised the operation, but denied ordering his subordinates to coerce Dumenil.

"Things didn't go as they should have," he acknowledged.

- 'Important milestone' -

But the presiding judge condemned Bajolet for failing to report the affair to the courts or to initiate disciplinary procedures against the agents.

Neither has ever been identified, while state secrecy was repeatedly invoked across the investigation.

After being found guilty of aiding and abetting attempted extortion and the arbitrary infringement of individual liberty by a public official, Bajolet was ordered to pay 25,000 euros to Dumenil, including 15,000 euros for "the suffering endured".

The criminal court in Bobigny, in the suburbs of Paris, however granted the prosecution's request not to have Bajolet's conviction mar his criminal record given his years of service to France.

Nicolas Huc-Morel, Dumenil's lawyer, hailed the decision as "an important milestone after years of legal battles".

The businessman, who had sought three million euros in damages, was not present for the verdict.

But during the November hearing, Dumenil accused the spy agency of attempting to murder him and of putting pressure on the courts.

The DGSE accuses the businessman of defrauding the agency and owing it 15 million euros, including three million in interest.

M.Ouellet--BTB