Founder of main All Blacks sponsor found guilty of corruption

French rugby federation president Bernard Laporte was handed a two-year suspended sentence in a corruption case involving a billionaire club owner, just nine months before the World Cup kicks off in France, his lawyer said today.

Laporte, who is also World Rugby’s vice-chairman, was found guilty of passive corruption, influence peddling, illegal interest taking and misuse of corporate assets by a court in Paris.

Laporte was banned from holding any position in rugby for two years but his lawyer Jean-Pierre Versini-Campinchi said he would appeal the ruling, meaning the former France coach and sports minister can keep his top job at the federation in the meantime.

Mohed Altrad, the owner and president of Montpellier rugby club, was also found guilty of active corruption, influence peddling, and misuse of corporate assets, L’Equipe newspaper reported. He was handed an 18-month suspended prison sentence, as well as a 50,000-euro fine, the newspaper said.

Altrad Group has been the front jersey sponsor for the All Blacks, Black Ferns and other national rugby sides since the start of this year following a six-year deal announced last August worth over $120 million. The deal also reportedly includes player agreements and fixtures in Montpellier.

New Zealand Rugby said it is aware of the legal proceedings but previously declined to comment when approached by the Herald.

Florian Grill, who ran against Laporte for the French federation presidency two years ago, urged members of the federation’s board of directors to resign collectively, and called for new elections.

“This conviction is an earthquake for the French rugby world,” Grill said.

In 2017, Laporte was the subject of an investigation into an alleged conflict of interests and denied accusations that he pressured the French federation’s appeals board to reduce sanctions against Top 14 club Montpellier.

Following a three-month investigation, the French sports ministry said Laporte contacted the appeal commission’s president and stressed that the phone call resulted in commission members changing their decision. That meant Montpellier’s fine of 70,000 euros was reduced to 20,000 euros and a one-game stadium ban was canceled after Laporte’s intercession.

Altrad, a Syrian-born French billionaire and a close friend of Laporte, sealed a partnership with the French federation to become the first shirt sponsor of the Tricolors in 2018. The French federation said at the time its ethical committee judged that the sponsorship deal did not cause a conflict of interest. The Altrad group was the sole bidder.

This article was first published on nzherald.co.nz and is republished here with permission