A fish supplier in Nice cornered the region’s seafood market with bribery and illicit trading, a court was told.
Chefs, restaurant owners and supermarket managers are among 49 people accused of a racket that created a virtual monopoly for Les Mareyeurs du Sud-Est. The wholesale company supplied fresh fish from Monaco to St Tropez.
It paid cash “envelopes” to restaurant and shop owners to ensure their loyalty in a scam said to have cost up to €4 million out of €40 million sales per year.
Jean-Pierre Silva, a former Michelin two-star chef, had been “forced to take part in the racket to survive”, the court was told. Alain Cavanna, chef of Etoile du Sporting de Monaco, and Joël Garault, chef-de-cuisine at the Hôtel Hermitage in Monaco, are also accused. The defendants face up to ten years in prison if convicted.
The trial continues.