Bronfman, Messier, face share manipulation charges
p2pnet news view | Crime:- Canadian Warner Music boss Edgar Bronfman jr (right) and Jean-Marie Messier, aka J6M, the man who once ran France’s Vivendi Universal, are in trouble again.
They were under suspicion in an insider trading scandal which once rocked France.
“Vivendi … staggered back from bankruptcy after ex-chairman Jean-Marie Messier’s spending excesses brought it close to ruin,” said a 2004 p2pnet story, going on:
“At one point, French prosecutors were examining whether or not Vivendi deliberately misled investors while it was being run by Messier, who himself faced possible class-actions in the US.
“It was also under criminal investigation in the US.”
Now, they’ve both been ordered to stand trial in France on charges dating back eight years, says the Financial Times, going on this overrules an earlier finding by the Paris prosecutor that there was no case to answer.
“The investigation centres on allegations of market manipulation, distributing false information, and misuse of corporate funds during a period of daring acquisitions masterminded by Mr Messier, then chief executive, to turn Vivendi into a global media giant,” it says, continuing »»»
The $100bn of acquisitions pushed it close to bankruptcy, and Mr Messier, who now heads Messier and Partners, a mergers advisory firm based in New York, left the company in 2002.
Vivendi bought Seagram, the drinks and media group, in 2000 in a deal that made the Bronfman family the French company’s largest shareholder. Mr Bronfman, now head of Warner Music, was vice-chairman of Vivendi until his resignation in 2003.
Says the Times:
“Judge Jean-Marie d’Huy, the investigating magistrate, has accused Mr Messier of divulging ‘false or misleading information’ in 2001 as he sought to bolster the balance sheet in the wake of huge expansion.
“Mr Bronfman, the head of the American distilling dynasty and deputy chief executive at the time, is accused of insider dealing through the sale of stock options in 2002 ‘whilst being aware of facts not communicated to the public’.”
Among other things Bronfman, who recently moved to London, has been trying to persuade US schools to adopt Choruss, a “bait-and-switch” music ‘licensing’ scheme.
p2pnet – Huge Vivendi tax break, August 27, 2004
Financial Times – Former Vivendi executives to stand trial over share allegations, October 23, 2009
moved to London – Is Warner Music eyeing EMI? Again?, June 24, 2009
bait-and-switch – Choruss, and the sound of silence, October 16, 2009
Times -
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October 23rd, 2009 at 6:11 pm
Edgar Bronfman Jr is untouchable. People who are that wealthy and well-connected are simply above the law, period.
His father … has plenty of friends in high places, and the Bronfman family … can muster a lot of powerful and influential people to their defense.
As an example, Edgar Bronfman’s friend (and notorious white-collar criminal) Marc Rich received a Presidential pardon while still a fugitive.
[Note: I deleted sections of this post because I don't want to open p2pnet to religious or racial arguments. - Jon ]
October 23rd, 2009 at 9:59 pm
Thanks for taking the time to edit and explain (hitting ‘delete’ button is so much easier for busy admins)
Mobsters, white-collar criminals, and other disreputable people the world over have always been drawn to religious, charitable, and political organizations. It gives them cover and lets them buy friends, power, and political influence, which can come in very handy when they run afoul of the law.
For a site which openly ridicules Scientology and takes opportunity to highlight the darkest embarrassments of the Catholic church, it’s interesting that other organizations with skeletons in their closet are not allowed to be mentioned.
October 24th, 2009 at 8:55 am
So far I haven’t seen any reports of rabbis and long-running embarrassments centering on sexual abuse of children. In the Catholic Church, however, sadly, it’s an ongoing theme. And I see CoS as a cult, not a religion.
Cheers!
October 24th, 2009 at 9:10 am
‘it’s interesting that other organizations with skeletons in their closet are not allowed to be mentioned’
BPI, IFPI, RIAA, MPAA, etc etc
October 24th, 2009 at 1:32 pm
“So far I haven’t seen any reports of rabbis and long-running embarrassments centering on sexual abuse of children. In the Catholic Church, however, sadly, it’s an ongoing theme.”
The frequency of stories appearing in the “lamescream” media should not be used as any kind of gauge of real-life events. It’s the nature of the press to focus attention on some stories while ignoring others, creating a distorted reality in the public mind. Words and phrases are also chosen (or avoided) to enhance this distortion. For instance, we’ve been bombarded with the phrases “muslim terrorist” and “Islamic terrorist” while the term “Hindu terrorist” is virtually nowhere to be found in news reports, despite that the Indian subcontinent has been the world’s leading hotbed of political violence.
Pedophilia is not confined to the Catholic church, as the national media might have us believe. A two-second Google search should confirm this.
such as here: http://www.forward.com/articles/116779/
or here: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=99913807
or how about this whopper?: http://100777.com/node/463
The main difference being that most of these stories are rarely picked up by the national news media. Catholics, in comparison, seem to be considered fair game, resulting in this “ongoing theme.”
In the case of Edgar Bronfman, had he instead been someone with close ties to the Vatican, there’s little doubt that this association would be mentioned in the press, repeatedly.
October 24th, 2009 at 1:39 pm
^^ Fair enough. And we’ll leave it at that.
Cheers!