The French prosecutor’s office became interested in corruption in the Russian “daughter” of Auchan

Since 2020, the National Financial Prosecutor’s Office of France has been investigating cases of corruption in the Russian division of the Auchan group, said Challenges with reference to legal sources. The interlocutor of the publication indicated that the French Central Office for Combating Corruption, Financial and Tax Offenses (OCLCIFF) interrogated former and current employees of the unit as witnesses. In May 2020, Kommersant wrote that Alexey Zharkov, a former lawyer of the network, who dealt with issues of combating corruption and audit, told the French press about illegal schemes in the Russian Auchan.

A Challenges source said that OCLCIFF interrogated the secretary general, Auchan’s international security director, and the former director of security for the Russian division, among others. The judicial investigation was initiated on the facts of “bribery of a foreign official”, “bribery by individuals”, as well as “complicity and concealment of these crimes,” the source said. Later, a well-informed source from the France Press (AFP) agency confirmed the same information.

Auchan told AFP that the purpose of the investigation is “to reveal the facts within the Russian unit”, but “it is not directed against Auchan”, who is a “victim” in this case and reserves the right to file a civil lawsuit.

According to Challenges, the investigation began after an interview with Les Echos newspaper by Alexei Zharkov. As pointed out by Kommersant, he claimed that employees of the Russian division of the network demanded payment from suppliers in order to stand on the shelf of the network, and arranged information leaks that allowed the retailer’s counterparties to gain an advantage in tenders.

Then the press service of the Russian division of Auchan told Kommersant that they did not know what sources Les Echos relies on, and did not confirm these articles. Challenges journalists in the Auchan group have now been told that Mr. Zharkov has not supported his arguments with any evidence or documents, and has been trying to “interest the press” since the management suspended the renewal of his contract in 2019.

“Auchan did not wait for the investigation of the French courts, nor the allegations of a former employee, in order to identify this problem and deal with it as best as possible,” the group said.

Details of the statement by Alexei Zharkov – in the material “Kommersant” “Auchan missed traffic”.

Grigory Leiba