On 9 December 2024, following a judicial investigation lasting nearly ten years, the so-called “nuclear trial” opened before the Saint-Étienne Criminal Court, at which eight defendants – former and current directors of a company based in the Loire region specialising in the manufacture of forged parts – were charged with fraud.
The defence team for the company’s director comprised Capucine Lanta de Bérard, Pauline Dufourq and Tom Bruneau.
The firm’s lawyers sought to demonstrate to the judges of the Criminal Court that their client had been referred by the investigating judge for offences for which he had not been formally charged; this latter point constituting a procedural irregularity preventing the hearing from proceeding. Granting this request, the Annecy Criminal Court applied the provisions of Article 385(2) of the Code of Criminal Procedure and referred the case back to the Public Prosecutor’s Office so that the proceedings could be brought into order.
Le Progès – 9 December 2024 edition
https://www.leprogres.fr/faits-divers-justice/2024/12/09/faux-certifica…
