The first investigating judge of the economic and financial judicial center notified businessman Youssef Mimouni, a former general director of a public bank, as well as several lawyers and legal experts, of the decision to close the investigation and refer them to the Indictment Chamber of the Court of Appeal of Tunis. It will now have to decide on the follow-up to be given to this complex matter.
This step marks an important turning point in a case which had already led the investigating judge of the financial center to issue arrest warrants against Mimouni, the former manager of the public bank involved, a lawyer, the owner of a legal consulting firm as well as a former executive of the same bank. Several other suspects remained at liberty but subject to a travel ban.
The charges brought against him are heavy and multiple: falsification, possession and use of falsified documents, active and passive corruption, exploitation of the status of civil servant to obtain an undue advantage, violation of administrative procedures for personal purposes or for the benefit of others, and damage caused to the administration.
All of these accusations are linked to operations and transactions between the public bank concerned and companies belonging to the businessman.
Alleged document manipulation practices
The file, whose volume and technicality testify to the extent of the suspicions, highlights alleged practices of documentary manipulation, financial irregularities and collusion between economic actors and banking officials. The Indictment Chamber will now have to determine whether there is sufficient evidence to refer the accused to court.
This case, closely followed in economic and judicial circles, once again illustrates the importance given to the fight against corruption, particularly when it involves public financial establishments and sensitive decision-making circuits.
