Former French intelligence chief on trial for alleged extortion attempt

The former head of France's foreign intelligence agency, Bernard Bajolet appeared in court, denying any involvement in an alleged attempt to extort a businessman. The prosecution has requested a suspended prison sentence of six to eight months for Bajolet, who faces charges of complicity in an attempted extortion.

The prosecution has requested a suspended sentence of six to eight months for former Bajolet in the case of complicity in an attempted extortion, AFP reports.

The trial centers on an alleged effort to extort €15 million from Alain Dumenil, a French-Swiss dual national involved in a longstanding financial dispute with the Directorate-General for External Security (DGSE). Bajolet, who led the intelligence agency from 2013 to 2017, is also charged with arbitrarily infringing on an individual’s freedom in his capacity as a public official.

According to the DGSE, Dumenil allegedly defrauded the agency, leaving it owed €15 million, including €3 million in interest. Bajolet explained that the DGSE has managed a private asset fund since the end of World War I to maintain financial independence even in the event of a government collapse or foreign occupation. “These funds had been mismanaged by the DGSE,” he said, noting the dispute traces back to unsuccessful investments in the late 1990s, when Dumenil was brought in to assist.

The conflict escalated in March 2016, when Dumenil was stopped at Paris’ main airport by border police as he prepared to fly to Switzerland. Two plain-clothes DGSE agents allegedly demanded reimbursement of the €15 million, using threats that included showing Dumenil “a photo album of himself and members of his family, to make him understand that he and his loved ones were being watched and followed,” according to a judicial source. Enraged, Dumenil announced he would file a complaint, after which the agents left.

Bajolet, now 76, confirmed that he had authorized the operation but insisted he had not instructed subordinates “to use any kind of coercion.” “Things didn’t go as they should have,” he said. Commenting on the DGSE agents’ conduct, he added, “That’s not at all what I authorised, that’s not at all how I saw things. Perhaps I acted a little hastily… I had other concerns at that time, during a period marked by several militant attacks in Europe, and particularly in France.”

The trial comes in the wake of a recent Paris Court of Appeal decision reducing the sentence of Claude Guéant, former General-Secretary of the Élysée Palace (2007–2011) and former Minister of the Interior (2011–2012), to one year of suspended imprisonment. In 2022, Guéant was found guilty of irregularities in awarding contracts for sociological research for the Élysée Palace and had initially been sentenced to one year in prison.

By Vafa Guliyeva