Supreme Court hears fraud bid to erase State's €209m debt
By Zak Jackson, MonacoViews Editorial
Monaco's Supreme Court heard an unprecedented request to annul two of its own rulings over alleged fraud linked to a €209 million debt owed to Caroli Immo.
The Tribunal Suprême sat on Tuesday to consider a highly unusual application: whether two of its previous decisions concerning the Esplanade des Pêcheurs development can be struck out on grounds of fraud. At stake is a debt of €209 million that the Monegasque State has been ordered to pay to the property group Caroli Immo, one of the largest sums the Principality has faced in a legal dispute of this kind.
Lawyers for the State argued that newly uncovered elements point to fraudulent conduct that should void the earlier rulings, effectively wiping out the liability. Caroli Immo's representatives countered that Monaco's legal texts contain no provision allowing the Supreme Court to annul its own final judgments on these grounds, regardless of the allegations raised.
The case has drawn close attention from those following how Monaco's institutions handle large-scale property disputes involving the State. A ruling against the State would confirm one of the costliest judgments in recent memory, while a decision to annul could set a notable precedent for how fraud claims are treated within Monaco's judicial system.
No date has yet been given for the court's decision, but the outcome will be closely watched by property developers and legal professionals working across the Principality, given the scale of the sum involved and the questions it raises about finality in Monegasque administrative law.