Arnaud Lagardère compelled to step down from executive positions following filing of preliminary charges

Arnaud Lagardère, the former chair and chief executive of media group Lagardère, has been forced to resign after French financial prosecutors filed preliminary charges against him. The charges include dissemination of false or misleading information, vote buying, misuse of corporate assets, abuse of power, and failure to file accounts.

The charges against Lagardère pertain to events that occurred in 2018 and 2019 and involve companies owned by him personally, not the group itself. Lagardère has denied the charges and plans to appeal them. In the French legal system, the charges are a first step and judges will later decide whether the case will go to trial.

As a result of the charges, Lagardère has been banned from holding executive office and has resigned from his positions. The company, which owns a publishing house, magazines, news outlets, and a travel retail business, was taken over by Vincent Bolloré’s media group Vivendi last year after a corporate battle that saw Lagardère lose control of the company built by his father.

Lagardère’s directors will meet soon to ensure the group’s governance in his absence. Shares in Lagardère rose 2% following the news, reaching a market value of €2.9bn. The charges against Lagardère stem from an investigation into the alleged use of funds from his companies to finance his personal expenses, triggered by a complaint from activist investor Amber Capital and alerts from regulatory bodies.

The outcome of this legal battle will have significant implications for the future of Lagardère and its leadership.