The “Rotten files” left by the UDI to the new communist majority of Abdel Sadi in Bobigny (Seine-Saint-Denis) have not finished being unearthed. Five months ago, the city council sued the former mayor, Stéphane de Paoli, and his deputy, Christian Bartholmé, for suspicion of fraud within the city’s HLM body. On Wednesday, seven new complaints, consulted by the ‘Humanity, were filed, this time targeting two cases of alleged embezzlement in another structure managed by the municipality, Semeco, a semi-public company that manages the city’s public spaces.
The first concerns the former director general of Semeco, Rachid Maalem, also former close to the president of the UDI, Jean-Christophe Lagarde. The municipality of Bobigny, majority shareholder, suddenly decides, in 2020, to separate from him. We are then in the middle of the municipal campaign and the UDI presents a list led by Christian Bartholmé, deputy of the outgoing mayor, Stéphane de Paoli. This departure is not the subject of a dismissal but goes through a transaction, signed by the elected Mahamadou N’Diaye, then president of the administrative council of Semeco but also a candidate on the UDI list. It provides for compensation granted to Rachid Maalem, in the amount of 259,000 euros. A sum “Fully released on the day of the final proclamation of the results of the 2020 Balbynian municipal ballot”, specifies the memorandum of understanding.
Another condition: remain silent. “Mr. Maalem makes a commitment of political neutrality until the final proclamation of the result of the municipal ballot (…), he more generally undertakes not to participate in any capacity in municipal elections”, specifies the document. While the former CEO of Semeco refuses to comment on these facts to date, Mahamadou N’Diaye is content to assert that Rachid Maalem “Had to have a duty of reserve”. He also ensures that there is no link between this transaction and the multiple alerts issued by Rachid Maalem about possibly illegal maneuvers, such as when the Bobigny municipal council decides in 2019 to cancel the debt of 115,000 euros. from a local company, without justification. For Waly Yatera, new president of Semeco and deputy mayor of Bobigny, there is no doubt: “Major disagreements of Mr. Maalem on the subject of public policies led to this agreement, making it possible to buy his silence, in full municipal campaign”, he asserts.
Exorbitant compensation
The other six complaints also concern Semeco, and four of its executives (two human resources managers, the financial director and the legal manager), whose departure was concluded within the framework of a collective contractual termination (RCC) signed in 2019. While in financial difficulty, the organization officially wants to reduce its payroll. However, this RCC does not do Semeco’s business, since 1.279 million euros in compensation in total have been granted to the four executives, whose departure is set for July 2020, after the municipal elections. According to Waly Yatera, this RCC is riddled with breaches of the Labor Code. Above all, according to the labor inspectorate, the allowances granted are exorbitantly high, considering the low seniority of these employees and the financial situation of Semeco. The signatories of this RCC are therefore the subject of complaints for misuse of corporate assets. The Bobigny municipal team reserves the right to deposit more “When all the responsibilities have been established”. Waiting for others “Rotten files”…
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