Former CEO Jacques Bouthier Released on Bail Amid Rape and Trafficking Charges

At the age of 76, Jacques Bouthier had been indicted and incarcerated in May 2022 in Paris. He is also being prosecuted for criminal conspiracy to commit a crime of kidnapping and sequestration in an organized gang. An investigating judge had ordered his conditional release last year, but the Paris prosecutor’s office had appealed. It was finally on Monday that the Paris Court of Appeal confirmed the release under judicial supervision.

According to well-informed sources, the Court of Appeal’s decision also took into account a medical expert opinion recently requested by the defense, which concluded that "Bouthier’s general state of health has deteriorated and that he is incompatible with his continued detention". This case, which has connections in Morocco, broke out a year ago when a 22-year-old woman filed a complaint against the septuagenarian, accusing him of sequestration and repeated rapes. She backed up her statements with a video she managed to film in secret.

The young woman’s complaint will unleash tongues in Morocco. Former Moroccan employees have also filed complaints alleging similar acts that allegedly occurred between 2018 and April 2022 in Moroccan subsidiaries of the French brokerage giant. They reported "systematic sexual harassment, threats and intimidation within Assu 2000 in Tangier, and this in a climate of social precariousness". At least eight people have been indicted in this case.