Yvan Trebern (center), lawyer of Didier Chevalier, arrested in 2004 on his way home from Thailand, prepares files at Nantes Courthouse before the start of the trial of twenty-seven people accused of running a prostitution ring, whose profits were laundered via a luxury property development in Thailand.

AFP

Mass trial begins over French-Thai prostitution ring

NANTES, France - Twenty-seven people went on trial Monday in western France accused of running a prostitution ring whose profits were laundered via a luxury property development in Thailand.

French police arrested some 40 people in 2004 after discovering a double bookkeeping system in 11 hostess bars in the western cities of Rennes and Nantes, suspected of operating as brothels. Part of the bars' turnover was embezzled and used to finance an eight-villa property development in Thailand.

Two of the suspected ringleaders -- bar managers Didier Chevalier, 50, and Bertrand Menay, 45 -- are charged with procuring prostitution, embezzling company funds and money-laundering.

A third, Lionel Chevalier, 43, is on the run from police in Thailand and will be tried in absentia on the same charges during the two-week trial.

The remaining defendants, who include 13 women, are accused of running a prostitution racket and of laundering funds.

Testifying in court, several bar customers said they received sexual favours from hostesses, some saying they spent up to 70,000 euros (95,000 dollars) at the bars, where a bottle of champagne sold for up to 380 euros.

"I must have bought two or three bottles, and the girl gave me oral sex," one of them told the court, while others said they tipped hostesses for favours, in cash or by blank cheque. Several hostesses admitted on Monday having agreed to oral sex and full intercourse with customers in the bars' private rooms -- "to pay off debts" one of them said. "The bosses knew about it, but told us not to mention anything to outsiders," she said.

Both Chevalier and Menay denied any knowledge of prostitution on their premises.

- AFP

Edited September 3, 200718 yr by sriracha john

Bit of a misleading title. Seems to be more about tax evasion.

Yvan Trebern (center), lawyer of Didier Chevalier, arrested in 2004 on his way home from Thailand, prepares files at Nantes Courthouse before the start of the trial of twenty-seven people accused of running a prostitution ring, whose profits were laundered via a luxury property development in Thailand.

AFP

Mass trial begins over French-Thai prostitution ring

NANTES, France - Twenty-seven people went on trial Monday in western France accused of running a prostitution ring whose profits were laundered via a luxury property development in Thailand.

French police arrested some 40 people in 2004 after discovering a double bookkeeping system in 11 hostess bars in the western cities of Rennes and Nantes, suspected of operating as brothels. Part of the bars' turnover was embezzled and used to finance an eight-villa property development in Thailand.

Two of the suspected ringleaders -- bar managers Didier Chevalier, 50, and Bertrand Menay, 45 -- are charged with procuring prostitution, embezzling company funds and money-laundering.

A third, Lionel Chevalier, 43, is on the run from police in Thailand and will be tried in absentia on the same charges during the two-week trial.

The remaining defendants, who include 13 women, are accused of running a prostitution racket and of laundering funds.

Testifying in court, several bar customers said they received sexual favours from hostesses, some saying they spent up to 70,000 euros (95,000 dollars) at the bars, where a bottle of champagne sold for up to 380 euros.

"I must have bought two or three bottles, and the girl gave me oral sex," one of them told the court, while others said they tipped hostesses for favours, in cash or by blank cheque. Several hostesses admitted on Monday having agreed to oral sex and full intercourse with customers in the bars' private rooms -- "to pay off debts" one of them said. "The bosses knew about it, but told us not to mention anything to outsiders," she said.

Both Chevalier and Menay denied any knowledge of prostitution on their premises.

- AFP

Maybe the two topics should be merged ?

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/index.php?sh...p;#entry1513222

LaoPo

Bit of a misleading title. Seems to be more about tax evasion.

That's the charge that usually sticks when other nefarious activity is hard to prove. Its what nailed a lot of the mafia crime families in the US; notably Al Capone.