(Reuters) – A French court has opened a preliminary investigation of three former senior executives at French nursing care provider Orpea, following a criminal complaint filed by the company in late 2022, it said on Friday.
The probe is part of a judicial investigation for breach of trust, fraud, aggravated misuse of corporate assets, organised money laundering and private corruption, the Judicial Court of Nanterre said in a statement emailed to Reuters.
“These three former executives were brought before the investigating judges of the economic and financial division of the Nanterre judicial court on 29 June 2023 as part of a judicial investigation opened the same day by the Nanterre public prosecutor’s office,” the court said.
Orpea’s former CEO and CFO were remanded into custody, while a former deputy CEO was placed under judicial supervision, the court said. It did not name the three executives.
Investigations into other complaints or reports related to Orpea are continuing, it added.
Orpea is undergoing a financial restructuring. The heavily indebted group has been in turmoil for over a year following the publication of a book in France that outlined possible malpractice at its care homes. The company has rejected the allegations of widespread abuse.
(Reporting by Dina Kartit in Gdansk; Editing by Matthew Lewis)
