We tell you the story of the fake Renault spies, as the trial of their accusers begins

It is the story of a fiasco, which led to a scandal in 2011 and the firing of three Renault executives, falsely accused of passing confidential information to China. The “traitors” have since been cleared and more than ten years after the events, only a few of their accusers will be tried in Paris from Wednesday January 17 to Friday January 26. In the accused box, four people appear for criminal conspiracy with a view to defraud or breach of confidentiality. Franceinfo looks back at this unlikely affair, which seriously damaged the automobile group’s image. And that materially led to the resignation of Renault CEO Carlos Ghosn’s right-hand man.

A mysterious anonymous letter

To understand the genesis of the affair, we must go back to August 17, 2010. While returning from vacation, several managers discovered an anonymous letter at Renault’s headquarters in Boulogne-Billancourt (Hautes-de-Seine). The author claims that Renault employees are corrupt and get “bribe”. She has appointed two people to occupy key positions. They are Michel Balthazard, a leading engineer, a member of the executive committee, who has worked for the firm for thirty years, and Mathieu Tanenbaum, 33, also an engineer, responsible for developing electric vehicles. Both have access to highly confidential information.

“Of course I have no proof, of course it’s slander, but I don’t care. I can’t see well-earned people still stealing money. Which apparently happens. By rebound to Renault’s detriment.”

the crow

In his anonymous letter

These allegations go back to Carlos Ghosn. Instead of relying on justice, he chose to launch an internal investigation to keep the matter from being known. This responsibility has been assigned to Remi Pagni, head of the group security department of Renault’s interior police. The latter assigns two members of his team to investigate : Mark Tixador and Dominic Gaveri. The first is a former police officer from the Versailles financial brigade, who retrained in the private sector. Another, an ex-soldier, then claims to be an informant whom he nicknames “the Belgian”. Later, also a soldier, “Boasted to be able to possess in-depth knowledge in the financial sector”Dominique Gavry has a relationship with the show “Affairs Sensible” on France 2.

“Le Belge” quickly obtained banking information indicating that Michel Balthazard had an account in Liechtenstein and Matthew Tannenbaum had an account in Switzerland. The Belgian also claims that another group executive, Bertrand Rochet, who is involved in electric car development, also has a Swiss account. In a note sent to Dominique Gavry, the informant asserts that very significant financial flows must have passed through his account through shell companies. Michel Balthazard would have been paid 180,000 euros, Mathieu Tanenbaum 551,600 euros and Bertrand Rochet no less than 45,000 euros. “Le Belge” specifies that the sponsors of these payments will be two Chinese companies.

Unceremoniously dismissed

Carlos Ghosn, immediately informed, makes a radical decision. “He tells me : ‘OK, we have to take action, we have to fire people'”, says Patrick Pelata, Renault’s number two, in “sensitive matters”. For his part, former police officer Mark Tixdor claims to have warned the management. “Please note, you cannot fire employees based on this information, it is information only, not proof”He may have said, according to his lawyer Fanny Collin, who was interviewed on the show. Despite these warnings, the three officers were summoned by their superiors on January 3, 2011. They were interrogated in separate offices using methods similar to police interrogations. Renault executives hope the suspects will eventually confess and resign. But their plan fails : All categorically deny it. All three suspects were still fired immediately.

The affair spread very quickly and the media machine went into overdrive. At that time Industry Minister Eric Besson, A “Danger to French Industry” and talks about “Economic War”. The On January 11, 2011, the three officers were called for official dismissal. A crowd of cameras at the entrance to the group’s premises. Michel Balthazard, Mathieu Tenenbaum and Bertrand Rochet have pleaded not guilty. “Renault is making very serious accusations against me, which I completely deny. (…) It is a serious attack on my reputation, on my integrity”says Michele Balthazard, visibly shaken.

“My only goal is to recognize that I had nothing to do with this matter.”

Michel Balthazard, an engineer at Renault

After leaving Group Headquarters

Renault, meanwhile, has filed complaints of organized theft, passing information to foreign powers, corruption and criminal conspiracy.

Doubt of real police officers

The probe has been handed over to the Central Directorate of Internal Intelligence (DCRI). And very quickly, the police had doubts about the real existence of the hidden accounts. Dominique Gavry, at the core of the revelation, refuses to name his source, a famous Belgian informant. And at the end of January, despite the increasingly obvious fragility of the case, Carlos Ghosn decided to publicly defend the internal investigation carried out by Renault. “We have certainty, if we didn’t have certainty, we wouldn’t be here”He says on TF1.

But it didn’t take long for the charges against the three executives to collapse: Switzerland informed the French justice system that they had no accounts in the country. A few weeks after his previous interview, Carlos Ghosn backpedaled on TF1 and apologized to the three executives. “I was wrong, we were wrong”It declares shame.

“This didn’t start with nothing… it started with certain information that was cut.”

Carlos Ghosn, CEO of Renault

on TF1

For Renault, it’s a disaster. It doesn’t take long to turn heads. On April 11, 2011, four executives of the group resigned, including Patrick Pelata. “The biggest regret of my entire career is that I should have disobeyed. When I said to Ghosn: ‘We have to go against the police, the government, the spying, that’s the only fair way I see it. I’m still stunned that He didn’t want to do that.”, he believes in “sensitive matters”. Carlos Ghosn manages to save his skin.

Gray areas to clarify

Where did this misinformation come from? Confronted by investigators, Dominique Gaveri believes that “The Belgian” invented everything. The latter is heard by the courts and in a new twist confirms that he neither participated in Renault’s internal investigation, nor provided the slightest element on the bank accounts. He has since been acquitted by the judges. The main accused is now called Dominique Gaveri. He is suspected to have demanded “cheating” Renault will shell out 300,000 euros from the carmaker. He denies any nonsense and assures that the amount will be used to pay off his informant… who never received it.

Dominic Gaveri was indicted in March 2011 for conspiracy to defraud an organized gang. After eight months of preventive detention, he was released under judicial supervision, pending trial. Now 65, she is in the dock and will be tried for fraud. Responsible for leading an internal investigation, Mark Tixador is on trial for covering up a breach of professional confidentiality. “He was never suspected of taking part in the scam”His lawyer Fanny Collin insists.

Michel Luk, a security consultant, was fired for forgery and fraud for sending false invoices to Renault and giving cash and transfers to Dominique Gavry. For the three false spies, they received compensation from Reno. “A secret transaction that would be about nine million euros for the trio, with a confidentiality clause”, refers to “sensitive matters”. Mathieu Tenenbaum has since returned to the company, while the other two have left.

Michelle Balthazard has already known that she will not participate in the trial. Before the affair, he was promised a great international career, expected to take charge of the group’s operations in Russia. “Or classification without follow-up, Neither return, Nor the apology addressed to him by Carlos Ghosn (is) was able to overcome the trauma suffered at that time” By whoever invested “Over thirty years of service to Renault”His lawyers have made the disclosure in a letter sent to the court.