It was the case that shocked Greece, before sinking into oblivion. More than five years later, on Friday September 27, French businessman Hugues Mulliez was convicted of "negligent homicide" and "dangerous intervention by means of a vessel" by the Nafplio criminal court after a fatal boating accident in Greek waters in August 2019. His sentence was set at six years suspended imprisonment, the plaintiffs told Le Monde, confirming information published by several Greek media.

According to Le Monde's information from Mulliez's entourage, his Greek lawyer, Nikos Emmanouilidis, "has of course immediately lodged an appeal (...) due to infringements of the rights of the defense, several procedural flaws and the dispute over responsibility for the accident." The businessman is represented in France by Christophe Ingrain.

Pending the appeal hearing, the date of which has not yet been set, the initial bond of €50,000 was reduced to €30,000. The court also upheld Mulliez's obligation to report once a month to the Greek consulate in Belgium, his place of residence, according to his entourage.

At the time of the events, the businessman had just turned 44 and was president of Telecel Group, a telecommunications company with operations in Africa. In France, he is known for having bought Surcouf, a computer store in financial difficulty at the time, for a symbolic €1 in 2009. Three years later, the store went bankrupt and was placed in receivership. Mulliez is the grand-nephew of Gérard Mulliez, founder of retailer Auchan, and thus a member of the powerful and discreet dynasty of entrepreneurs from northern France, including Leroy Merlin, Boulanger and Decathlon.

Le Monde has been able to consult a number of documents in the investigation file, which retraces the facts of the case. One evening in August 2019, at around 8:30 pm, the MIM speedboat left the island of Spetses, in the Argolic Gulf, popular with tourists for its tranquility. Manning the wheel of the 10-meter semi-rigid, powered by two 350 hp engines, Mulliez was headed for Kilada, a village some 20 kilometers to the north. On board were 10 of his relatives, half of them children.

Half an hour later, the MIM smashed into a small fishing boat. The small boat was torn apart and the three occupants, two brothers and their sister, were thrown into the sea. Mulliez and one of his friends jumped into the water. They managed to hoist Alexandra G. and one of the two unconscious brothers onboard their boat. The other brother was pulled out a few minutes later by sailors from a nearby yacht who had come to assist. The three Greek victims were quickly taken to the jetty of a nearby villa.

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