Transcript
WZ: The authority ordering trials has at last ruled against reopening the case after the court of appeal had annulled the prison terms contained in the conviction in 2015. It had been quashed on a technicality, but the prosecution tried to revive the case. In what is a major victory for Gaston Flosse, a line has been drawn under this most spectacular case.
KH: What was this OPT affair all about?
WZ: The central charge was that Gaston Flosse received kickbacks from a French advertising executive Hubert Haddad. A major public sector contract back in the 1990s was the one to print the phone directory of the publicly owned OPT telecommunications company. Mr Haddad secured it and the court was told that over the years, he paid Flosse more than two million US dollars to retain the business.
The operation also involved cash transactions. It transpired that Flosse's private secretary regularly met Mr Haddad's representative in Papeete to be given an envelope with money.
KH: How long has this OPT case been running?
WZ: Since 2009 when French police arrested Mr Haddad in France for suspected financial irregularities. He was transferred to Tahiti and as part of the investigation he was jailed for several months. Also jailed as part of the probe were senior OPT figures like a former minister Emile Vernaudon, who was the OPT chairman, and Geffry Salmon who is now a senior politician. They were held for several months. Flosse's personal secretary Melba Ortas was also held for months. And also briefly jailed was Gaston Flosse.
KH: So when did the matter go to court?
WZ: By late 2012, the OPT affair went to the criminal court in Papeete and in 2013 both Flosse and Mr Haddad were given five-year jail sentences for corruption. A total of eight people were convicted. Under the French system some convictions can be suspended until the appeal process is exhausted. This means that they all remained free. In 2015, the case went to the appeal court which on a technicality threw it out. For the prosecution it was untenable and it tried to resurrect the case. After all, the substance of the allegations which had led to the convictions had not been refuted in the appeal court. Interestingly, Flosse had admitted disbursing the money for private expenses.
KH: How did OPT fare?
WZ: When the case had been investigated, the OPT tried to get the misspent money reimbursed and wanted to recoup more than five million US dollars. However because Flosse didn't go to jail and because he was elected president in 2013, the lawyer acting on behalf of the OPT was sacked. The OPT board was made up of mainly ministers in the Flosse administration. The lawyer was dismayed and likened the move to a mafia-style affair with mafia-like behaviour.
KH: But Flosse still lost the presidency?
WZ: He did in 2014 in connection with another corruption case. That was followed by a five-year ban to hold office which however has now lapsed. He can therefore stand in next year's municipal election. The only snag could be another corruption case in which he was given a ban to hold office. However, the appeal is still pending.
