This Tuesday, the Nanterre criminal court sentenced two union members of the CGT Prestige and Economic Hotels (HPE) to suspended prison sentences for fraud. Claude Lévy, 64, received an eight-month suspended prison sentence. His wife, Tiziri Kandi, 33, was sentenced to six months in prison. These sentences correspond to the requests of the prosecution. A third union member, Antoinette Renssen, saw her annulment application rejected by the court. She will later be tried for complicity in fraud. “On a legal level, this is an eminently questionable decision,” reacted Alexia Gavini, lawyer for Claude Lévy and Tiziri Kandi, both present during the sentencing.
The CGT-HPE union members were tried at the end of September for having requested donations from the employees whom they defended before the labor court, between 2014 and 2020, encouraging the latter to pay the union 10% of the sums obtained before the labor court. these jurisdictions.
A fine of 5,000 euros
In a 49-page ruling, the criminal court considers that Claude Lévy, now retired, and Tiziri Kandi “abused their true capacity as union defenders”, “used fraudulent maneuvers” when demanding donations and that “these fraudulent maneuvers determined the sending of remittances”. Of funds. “The court sanctioned the serious excesses of Claude Lévy and Tiziri Kandi in the exercise of their mandate as union defenders, committed to the detriment of a considerable number of victims who had placed all their trust in them,” declared Gabriel Chiche. , who defended more than forty plaintiffs.
The CGT Paris Departmental Union and the CGT Île-de-France Regional Union also became civil parties in this case. In addition to their suspended prison sentences, Claude Lévy and Tiziri Kandi were sentenced to a fine of 5,000 euros each. They were also notified of a ban on their civic, civil and family rights (in particular, their right to vote, stand for election or testify in court) for five years. Furthermore, the court sentenced the two unionists to pay various sums to the individuals and union organizations civilly sued, in particular for the moral and economic damage suffered.
Source: BFM TV
