Seizure of 2,2 million euros for alleged fraud in public aid for renovation canceled in court

This company based near La Rochelle, which remains suspected of violating the collection of MaPrimRenov', a State bonus dedicated to energy renovation, obtained before the Poitiers Court of Appeal the restitution of almost all of the amount seized in May 2022.

According to an extract from the decision rendered on Tuesday, which AFP was able to consult, the investigating chamber estimates that "the amount of CEE bonus scams (energy saving certificates, Editor's note) can be estimated at 101.412,51, XNUMX euros (amount of premiums received unduly)" and that only this sum must be subject to seizure.

“The offending proceeds cannot be constituted by the entire turnover of the company but only by the economic advantage derived from the various offenses,” add the magistrates.

The court of appeal therefore overturned two orders taken, at the request of the prosecution, by a judge of freedoms and detention (JLD) of La Rochelle, by ordering the restitution of some 2,1 million euros to the company.

In July, the Directorate General for Competition, Consumer Affairs and Fraud Control (DGCCRF) publicly welcomed this “record seizure”.

According to the DGCCRF annual report, the company based in Aytré (Charente-Maritime) was suspected of soliciting potential customers by telephone by posing as the National Housing Agency (Anah) and promising them benefits. CEE bonuses, which they never received after signing their contract.

“By returning more than 2 million euros to our client, the Court of Appeal sanctions disproportionate seizures which were based on a botched investigation. Our client's activity was unjustly paralyzed for nearly a year and a half ", reacted to AFP Fares Aidel and Matthieu Hy, lawyers for the company.

The MaPrimRenov' system, set up in 2020 and managed by Anah, was criticized in 2022 by the Defender of Rights who pointed out "serious recurring technical malfunctions" and "extremely long processing times".