adminFrench Rugby Federation (FFR) president Bernard Laporte was released without charge on Tuesday after being detained earlier in the day as part of an investigation into suspected tax fraud.
Financial prosecutors, who had announced his detainment, and one of Laporte’s lawyers confirmed his release.
“It is a case in which he is implicated for having been associated with rugby friends a long time ago,” the lawyer, Jean-Pierre Versini-Campinchi, told AFP.
“He has neither been accused of having defrauded nor of having received any money.”
Earlier this month, Laporte stepped back from his role at the FFR without resigning after being convicted of unrelated corruption charges nine months before France hosts the Rugby World Cup.
The most recent investigation dates back to August 2020.
Tuesday’s incident comes as the almost 2 000 French rugby clubs are voting on whether to accept Laporte’s appointed interim president Patrick Buisson, with the results expected today . – AFP.
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