THIS is the first part of a series of 5 English translations of French publications regarding the Benalla affair. Benalla had worked clandestinely at the European Patent Office (EPO) before the so-called 'Benallagate' broke out.
Benalla and Crase mention a destruction of evidence in a new recording
Mediapart says it has handed over seven recordings to the courts.
Mediapart claimed on Tuesday February 5 that it had responded positively to a request from the investigating judges of the Benalla case, by sending to the courts six recordings posted on its website on January 31. These soundtracks indicate that Alexandre Benalla and Vincent Crase, former employee of La République en Marche (LREM) and reservist gendarme, violated their judicial control by meeting on July 26.
The investigation site takes the opportunity to publish a seventh recording, which it claims to have also made available to the investigation. In this new excerpt from their discussion, the two men, who have just been charged, refer to the destruction of evidence.
"Everything about Velours", replied Vincent Crase, citing the name of a security company, subcontractor of a contract concluded by his own company, Mars, on behalf of a Russian oligarch close to Vladimir Putin. Alexandre Benalla, a former employee of Velours, is said to be personally involved in this security contract, negotiated even though he was a project manager at the Elysée.
"The cops couldn't look at my phone because I turned it off and on again every time," adds Vincent Crase. "Frankly, the three cops weren't against me, far from it, the major who held the investigation told me that he really sucks at doing that."
Draft emails
Later in their conversation, as Mediapart already revealed last week, the two men are also wondering how to remove elements from the LREM party premises, where a search is to take place. "All my things are here," says Vincent Crase.
"I'd try to go tonight, but the problem is there are cops outside ..."
The two friends," continues Mediapart, "finally come up with a way to continue to correspond discreetly despite their judicial control, via drafts of dormant e-mail boxes. If a violation of their judicial control is found, Vincent Crase and Alexandre Benalla would be at risk of pre-trial detention.
The Paris Public Prosecutor's Office provoked controversy on Monday when it tried to search Mediapart's editorial office following the broadcast of the first excerpts from the conversation. The public prosecutor's office opened a preliminary investigation for "invasion of privacy" and "unlawful possession of technical devices or devices likely to enable the interception of telecommunications or conversations to be carried out".