Thirteen people, current or past licensees and managers of the French Karate Federation, filed a complaint against X on Wednesday in Nanterre (Hauts-de-Seine) for “serious dysfunctions” in the context of federal elections.
“As part of the campaign aimed at the election of a new president and a new board of directors, serious dysfunctions could be observed, of a nature to recover a criminal qualification”, details the complaint that the AFP was able to consult, sent to the Nanterre prosecutor on the eve of the start of the elections, scheduled until December 12.
Contacted by AFP, the national technical director of the Federation Yann Baillon indicated that due to the electoral campaign, his “duty of reserve” imposed on him “measure”, and therefore, not to respond to the requests of the press.
Illicit support for candidate Verfaillie?
These thirteen people – including members of the board of directors, presidents of regional leagues and even a former treasurer – criticize the current president of the French Federation of Karate and Associated Disciplines (FFKDA), Francis Didier, in office since 2001, for ‘use the institution’s resources to promote the election of one of his close friends, Bruno Verfaillie, head of the arbitration commission.
Franci Didier, who cannot legally claim a new mandate, is notably accused by the complainants of issuing equivalent ranks and grades “directly through (his) signature alone” against “the assurance of a vote in support of this candidate”. This constitutes, according to them, an offense of passive corruption and passive influence peddling.
The awarding of these distinctions usually goes through a commission which, they say, has not met since the summer of 2023. These titles awarded to licensees constitute forgeries and therefore lead their beneficiaries to commit theft of titles, asserts the complaint again.
The president convicted in 2010 for illegal taking of interest
More generally, the complainants denounce a “deleterious climate within the governing bodies of the Federation”. In 2017, the Ministry of Sports took legal action after an administrative investigation into the management of the FFKDA triggered by revelations from the AFP concerning suspicions of abuse of power and embezzlement.
Mainly targeted, Mr. Didier’s lifestyle, in particular a company apartment which he allegedly failed to declare as a benefit in kind. At the same time, Mr. Didier was also the subject of three legal complaints for breach of trust, filed by former managers or employees of the federation. In September 2010, the current president was sentenced in Paris for illegal taking of interest to a suspended fine of 1,000 euros, alongside two other members of the steering committee.