They embezzled nearly 300,000 euros from their film school: the director of the film Les Misérables Ladj Ly and his brother sentenced

Lady Ly admet avoir détourné de l’argent de son école de cinéma. MAXPPP – JAVIER ETXEZARRETA

Ladj Ly, le réalisateur du film Les Misérables, a reconnu des faits de détournements de fonds au sein de son école de cinéma devant le parquet de Bobigny.

The famous film director Ladj Ly was suspected of embezzlement within his own Kourtrajmé film school in Montfermeil. In this case, his brother is also implicated, according to information from Médiapart, both have admitted the facts.

Nearly 285,000 euros

It all started in 2019 when the intelligence service placed under the authority of the Ministry of the Economy noticed abnormal financial transactions on the account of the association Cité des artsvisuals et of its president, Amadou Ly. The latter is the younger brother but also the right arm of director Ladj Ly.

Investigations are being carried out against a backdrop of aggravated fraud, breach of trust and laundering of tax fraud alleged by the financial brigade of the Seine-Saint-Denis judicial police, note our colleagues.

The investigators estimate "that around 285 000 euros would have been embezzled from the coffers of the association which manages the  rsquo;school – supplemented by public and private financing –, and nearly 50 000 euros would have been on behalf of the production company Lyly Films, co-producer", relates Médiapart.

When the investigation ended in 2021, after the two men had been taken into custody and searches had been carried out, the public prosecutor had the choice of proposing a sentence and/or a fine through the use of a guilty plea procedure (CRPC) in the event of recognition of the facts by the accused, refer them for trial before a criminal court or dismiss the case without further action , if the charges were ultimately not retained.

The two brothers avoid the public trial and admit their guilt. Ladj Ly will have to pay a fine of 50,000 euros, as for Amadou, the courts handed down a six-month suspended prison sentence and 100,000 euros. ;euros fine.