Investigation Launched into Controversial Police Support Fund Following Nahel Shooting

The investigation, entrusted to the sub-directorate of economic and financial affairs of the judicial police, was opened after a complaint for organized fraud filed by Nahel’s family against the initiator of the fund, Jean Messiha, a far-right personality.

The complaint alleges fraudulent maneuvers and lies by Jean Messiha aimed at deceiving donors. The beneficiaries of the fund, promised to the family of the Nanterre policeman, will be considered as perpetrators of receiving the proceeds of organized fraud, the complaint states. This fund, which has already raised more than 1.6 million euros, had sparked a major controversy.

"We welcome the speed of this decision by the Public Prosecutor’s Office to open an investigation," said Me Yassine Bouzrou, lawyer for Nahel’s family. For his part, Jean Messiha, the initiator of the fund on the Gofundme platform, claimed at the beginning of July that the funds would be paid directly to the policeman’s family.

In its complaint, Nahel’s family also accuses Jean Messiha of lying by presenting Nahel as a "repeat offender" and the policeman as a "Bataclan hero", in reference to the jihadist attack that targeted the concert hall on November 13, 2015.