French Shipowner Faces Trial for Exploiting Undocumented Moroccan and Senegalese Workers

The case of Bernard Perez, 55, a shipowner from Aude, is referred to the criminal court of Narbonne (Aude). The fifty-year-old will be tried before this court on Thursday, September 18, 2025, at 2 p.m. for, among other things, illegally bringing in, hiring, and employing two undocumented workers from Morocco and Senegal on one of his boats for more than 30 months, reports Actu.fr. He faces 5 years in prison and several tens of thousands of euros in fines.

It all started with an inspection carried out on Wednesday, July 6, 2022, on the boat "Édouard François". That day, specialized agents noted infractions and shortcomings in terms of false declarations, professional maritime fishing, and proven deficiencies concerning the certificates obtained by several employees present. The Occitan entrepreneur allegedly helped the Moroccan Ahmed K. and the Senegalese Mamadou F. to enter French national territory illegally in May 2021, "with promises of employment." They do not hold residence permits.

Bernard Perez is also suspected of having employed these two men between May 14, 2021, and Tuesday, October 8, 2024, as sailors without having the required diplomas to perform this work. "The two employed individuals never received a single pay slip," says a judicial source, specifying that the Aude entrepreneur, owner of the boat "Édouard François", "repeatedly made false declarations concerning the two individuals to public service organizations, with the sole purpose of obtaining an allowance, benefit, or payment related to these two employees."

The French shipowner is also being prosecuted for forcing these two undocumented workers to work on his boat without having authorization to perform paid work on French territory. The Senegalese employee benefited on November 23, 2023, from a complete regularization of his situation on French territory for the period up to May 14, 2021. His Moroccan colleague who works for the French entrepreneur, also owner of another fishing boat for bluefin tuna named "Corsica V", was instead issued an obligation to leave French territory (OQTF) which was notified to him on October 8, 2024.