Macron aide arrested in connection with a contract brokered with a Russian businessman

 

The ex-aide to French President Emmanuel Macron, Alexandre Benalla, has been arrested as part of an investigation into a contract brokered with Russian businessman Iskandar Makhmudov.

Investigators are trying to find out whether Benalla used his position in the presidential administration to secure a contract with his former aide Vincennes Kraz and a Russian businessman.

Benalla is accused of corruption and tax evasion, according to BFMTV.

According to French media reports, in June 2018, Makhmudov signed a contract with the security company Vincent Kraze worth 300,000 euros, the agreement was supposed to protect the assets of the Russian businessman and his family in France. In February 2019, the French financial prosecutor’s office began reviewing the contract.

In early November, it was learned that Benalla had been sentenced to three years in prison, two of which were suspended, in the case of the use of force at a demonstration in Paris in May 2018.