PARIS, Jan 29 (Reuters) - Former Casino CEO Jean-Charles Naouri faced a year of electronic monitoring and a 1 million euro ($1.20 million) fine on Thursday after a Paris court sentenced him for
Former Casino CEO Jean-Charles Naouri Sentenced for Corruption
Overview of the Corruption Case
PARIS, Jan 29 (Reuters) - Former Casino CEO Jean-Charles Naouri faced a year of electronic monitoring and a 1 million euro ($1.20 million) fine on Thursday after a Paris court sentenced him for corruption and insider trading.
Court Ruling and Sentencing
The court found Naouri - who led the French supermarket group for 30 years - and three former senior executives guilty of corruption and the dissemination of false or misleading information as part of an organized group, it said.
Implications for Casino Group
It sentenced the 76-year-old former CEO to four years in jail but said three would be suspended and the remaining year could be served in the form of house arrest with electronic monitoring, the court's statement added.
Reactions and Next Steps
Naouri's lawyer did not immediately respond to a request for comment when contacted by Reuters via phone and email. He has previously denied all charges against him.
Naouri left the company in 2024 when it was taken over by Czech billionaire Daniel Kretinsky after financial restructuring to avert bankruptcy prompted by years of debt-fuelled acquisitions.
The court found that Naouri and the former executives had paid a publisher 823,000 euros in 2018-2019 to ensure positive press coverage of Casino.
It also ruled that the Casino executives had spread misleading information via the publisher that rival retailer Carrefour was considering a hostile takeover of Casino.
However it did not find evidence of market manipulation on the company's share price.
The Casino Group, the company that owns Casino and Monoprix supermarkets, was also fined 40 million euros for corruption, of which 20 million euros were suspended.
The company said it had taken note of the ruling and would decide within 10 days whether to appeal.
($1 = 0.8361 euros)
(Reporting by Dominique Vidalon, Louise Rasmussen and Dominique Patton; editing by Philippa Fletcher)
