One of the biggest financial cases in Martinique's history is coming to court. Starting this Monday, the Fort-de-France criminal court will examine the heart of the embezzlement case at the Territorial Collectivity of Martinique, a fraud estimated at over 3,2 million euros involving aid intended for people with disabilities.
Six defendants, considered the main protagonists in the case, are due to appear at this highly anticipated hearing. Among them are a former CTM employee suspected of orchestrating the scheme, her close associates, and a bank advisor. The investigation concerns alleged embezzlement of public funds, administrative forgery, money laundering, and receiving stolen goods.
Millions of euros from disability aid
According to the investigation, the funds were allegedly siphoned off between 2019 and 2024 within the CTM's Directorate of Autonomy, which is responsible, among other things, for managing the disability compensation benefit (PCH). Investigators describe a system based on falsified files, forged documents, and fraudulent transfers to various complicit beneficiaries.
Part of the embezzled money is alleged to have been used to finance an exceptionally lavish lifestyle: vehicles, luxury expenses, various purchases, and significant bank transactions are all detailed in the court file. Several convictions have already been handed down in recent weeks as part of guilty pleas, resulting in suspended prison sentences, fines, and asset confiscations.
A case that has become highly sensitive in Martinique
The case has sent shockwaves through the island's political and institutional landscape due to the sheer amount of money embezzled and its origin: public aid intended for vulnerable individuals. The CTM itself filed a complaint after discovering irregularities during internal investigations conducted in late 2024.
This trial should now allow the justice system to determine the exact responsibilities of the main defendants and to understand how such a system could have operated for several years without being detected earlier. In Martinique, this case is already considered one of the biggest local financial scandals of recent years.
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