The vice is tightening on Bachar Kouatly....


The President of the French Chess Federation is in turmoil.
In an investigation, the famous newspaper "Le Monde" highlighted conflicts of interest relating to highly remunerated contracts obtained with municipalities thanks to Bachar Kouatly's "double hat": president of the FFE and owner of a company that lives thanks to the activities generated by the FFE.
everal complaints have been filed.
The Lyon Public Prosecutor's Office, after a licensee's complaint, has just ordered a preliminary investigation. The Prosecutor of Ajaccio also referred the matter to the Nanterre Public Prosecutor's Office, which is responsible for the federal headquarters, following a complaint lodged by the President of the Corsican Chess League. The Nanterre Prosecutor has just assigned the case to a Financial Prosecutor.
Written questions were put by two MPs to the Minister of Sport. The arrests of Bruno Fuchs (Haut-Rhin) and Jean-Félix Acquaviva (Haute-Corse) were published in the Official Journal. Other parliamentarians are also active.


Risks for Sport Accreditation

In the other hand, several sources indicate that the Ministry had warned, after the publication of the investigation by "Le Monde", that this case could compromise sports accreditation. As we can see, the mix of genres poses serious threats to a federation that is supposed to be a sports federation. 

Bachar Kouatly's brutal reactions (dismissal, sine die, of the ordinary April GA in contempt of the texts, censorship on the France-Chess forum, which he owns, of the debate provoked by the article in Le Monde, stiffening of his behaviour towards opponents of his system...) are ominous. Especially as more and more voices are being heard, and other complaints, according to our sources, have been filed.  

The embarrassed denials of elected officials clearly abused by Bachar Kouatly's "double hat", such as that of the mayor of Agen (see this video), are likely to promise an end to his chaotic mandate.
 

The clarifications of the Mayor of Agen

"I maintain that this whole phase of opportunity, we were in negotiations with the president of the FFE, he has responsibilities in a commercial box it is his problem, but our negotiation, it was done in two stages [...] : first the opportunity we really made it with the FFE and its team, a second stage with its commercial operator" 

"the French Chess Federation tells us "we have a commercial operator who is the promotion of mind games", and so we negotiate with this promotion of mind games"


Ah if Bachar Kouatly had been as effective as a president as a businessman...

The exorbitant amount of these contracts, in consideration to the modesty of the services, is also disturbing. These councillors, out of passion for the game of Chess, do not realise that they are paying a huge price for a service whose maximum cost can be estimated at ten or fifteen thousand euros maximum.  

Many clubs perform this kind of service and it is the chess community that reaps the benefits. The initiation is obviously made by modestly paid temporary employees, because Bachar Kouatly's company has no employees! As for simultaneous, so-called majority parties against schoolchildren, they should simply be free!  

Markets, considerable for the chess world, are thus snatched by a businessman also Federal President. An agenais city councillor had analysed the very positive results of the company "Promotion des Jeux de l'esprit. In addition to 31 906 € of profit, there are 31 000 € of reception costs, 18 000€ of rental including a BMW, a 40 000€ rental to a SCI owned by the same Bachar Kouatly. Net result which had nevertheless been affected by two tax adjustments of 48 000 and 84 000 € ! And this is the 2017 balance sheet of a company in full financial health with, already, €284,000 of equity capital. 

 

We are looking forward to the 2018 contract with even more generous new customers such as this 480 000€ If he had been so skilled and motivated to find sponsors and partnerships directly for the FFE, Bachar Kouatly, talented and persuasive, would have been a great president.  

 

Questions written by two deputies to the Minister of Sport

Jean-Felix Acquaviva, groupe "Liberté et territoires"

Bruno Fuchs, groupe "Mouvement Démocrate et apparentés"

 


The Corsican League takes its responsibilities to avoid the worst

Privilégier l'intérêt collectif...
Privilégier l'intérêt collectif...

We understand the frustration of all those who act in the concern of a collective interest that does not exclude professionalisation. But within a transparent framework and in the service of a development strategy. 

The League Executive, faced with an evolution that considerably tarnishes the image of Chess, has decided to react. The threats to sports enjoyment, the bad image given by the media repercussions of this sad affair, the climate of hatred distilled in this federation by a desperate president constitute a brake to the proper development of chess activity in all regions and « a fortiori », in the island. 

The Corsican league has therefore decided to intervene to try to limit the damage.  

On a legal level, we saw it with this complaint filed by Leo Battesti as well as a letter addressed to the Minister of Sports.  

And at the level of communication, because it is the same person who has all the means of information: editorial control of the federal site, property of the only French-language chess magazine, the adjoining website and the expression forum linked to it! 

  

It is necessarily a delicate matter to deal with such a case. But silence or denial would be suicidal. It is to be hoped that the Federal President will be able to assess the situation. The facts are there. Stubborn. Unavoidable. All the legal experts consulted are categorical. The newspaper "Le Monde" would never have taken such a risk. Contracts were signed by what appeared, for elected officials who were deceived, to be an appendix of the FFE when they were dealing with a private company.  

If there is no conflict of interest in this case, where could there be?  

 According to these same experts, this would go even further, and concern the criminal field. Especially since other cases could be detected by ongoing investigations. One has already been the subject of a complaint and information to the Ministry by licensees: this Internet game zone belonging to Bachar Kouatly and just a click away on the homepage of the federal site. And, even stranger and potentially more serious, this miraculous transfer of $100,000, on December 28 from the United States, allowing the 2017 federal budget to be balanced. When questioned during a General Assembly marked by the surprising absence of the Statutory Auditor, the President declared that his sports federation was an NGO in the United States. 

We are still waiting to see the documents and actions that go with it... 

At a time when so many people are suffering on all continents, we will appreciate the message...



Le Jeudi 9 Mai 2019 | Lu 586 fois

Jeudi 9 Mai 2019


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