A retired Monaco police commissioner has been sentenced to three years in prison and fined €100,000 for his role in a corruption scheme that enabled a Belgian textile magnate and his relatives to illegally obtain Monegasque residency permits…
Retired Monaco police commissioner, Christian Carpinelli, has been sentenced to three years in prison and fined €100,000 for his role in a corruption scheme that enabled Belgian textile magnate Pierre Salik and his relatives to illegally obtain Monegasque residency permits. The court found the 73-year-old guilty of complicity in the improper issuance of administrative documents, corruption, influence peddling, and money laundering.
The investigation revealed that Carpinelli, alongside real estate agent Jean-Louis Coletti and two colleagues, helped arrange fake residency applications for Salik and about fifteen associates. By renting apartments in Monaco and purchasing season tickets to local sporting events, the group created the appearance of genuine residency while subletting the properties. The real estate agent received an 18-month prison sentence and a matching €100,000 fine, while another police officer was given an 18-month suspended sentence.
Carpinelli’s ex-wife, who exposed the scheme during divorce proceedings in 2016, received a suspended one-year sentence. Salik, who died in January, had also faced prosecution in Belgium for tax evasion. His payments to the commissioner’s family, including cash and luxury vehicles, were central to the case. Defence lawyers Pierre-Olivier Sur, Jérémy Gutkès, and Sarah Caminiti-Rolland, representing Carpinelli, described the ruling as “humiliating and harsh,” while Thomas Giaccardi, Jean-Louis Coletti’s lawyer, confirmed that his client would appeal.
