Monaco Businessman Sentenced for Family Abandonment After Fleeing to Morocco Amid COVID Crisis

Absent from the bar, the 52-year-old Monegasque was sentenced to three months in prison with a suspended sentence and a fine of 1,500 euros for moral prejudice, reports Nice-matin. The court also declared the payment of arrears inadmissible. The health crisis linked to Covid-19 is at the origin of the triggering of this case.

"Covid has a good back! The defendant would have lost 75% of his clientele with the pandemic. Yet he provides the documents that suit him and he deliberately conceals his real resources. What a fanciful and fallacious pretext in order to disregard his two children! Four orders have set his total contributory share at 700 euros per month. Apart from erratic payments, Mr. has never paid his debts from 2020 to 2021. Yet his tribute to the family obligation remains modest. But he prefers to privilege his living conditions after having emigrated to Morocco. The arrears accumulate a sum of 5,572 euros. Add 10,000 euros for the prejudice suffered by this battle!", we summarize.

For the prosecution, the defendant’s unwillingness to pay was indeed voluntary: "Does this engineer have a rent of 750 euros in Marrakech as he claims? Or more likely in local currency, as noted by the first deputy Valérie Sagné. He is then rich in Morocco, especially with a sum of 1,811 euros, noted on his account. His unwillingness to pay is displayed". In addition, no element supports the poor financial situation of his company caused by the health crisis.

"We criticize my client because he does not have the means to make the trip. He is an IT consultant. He needs to work. He is not rolling in money. In addition to arrears paid since February 2020, this father makes bank cards available to his children for their expenses, around 3,000 euros. The victim cannot claim arrears. If Madam does not have sufficient financial means, why is she still residing in Monaco? Her request is vindictive. Bring her demands back to more just proportions," explains Hervé Campana, the defendant’s lawyer, before the court renders its judgment.