Photographer François-Marie Banier arrested in Paris

Photographer François-Marie Banier arrested in Paris


François-Marie Banier, one of France's celebrated artists, has been arrested, but has yet to be charged for defrauding an elderly heiress of more than £850m

Author: Olivier Laurent

12 Dec 2011 Tags: FranceFrançois marie-banier

François-Marie Banier's arrest comes a year after similar charges were dropped against the photographer. In 2007, Françoise Meyers-Bettencourt, daughter of L'Oréal's heiress Liliane Bettencourt, claimed that Banier had taken advantage of her mother's fragile mental state to win gifts and donations worth more than €1billion.

Bettencourt is the third richest person in France, and reportedly regarded Banier as her son. Meyers-Bettencourt had argued that her mother was not in a fit mental state to make financial decisions, and had asked a French court to give her control over her mother's estate. But, the charges were dropped in December 2010 when Meyers-Bettencourt reached a deal with her mother and the photographer that saw Banier give back around €500m worth of presents he had received.

However, a court found that Liliane Bettencourt, from 2007 to 2011, was not in a fit mental state. The recent decision has forced authorities to reopen their case against the French photographer.

According to Le Monde newspaper, Banier's arrest was brought forward as the photographer planned to leave for New York to celebrate New Year's Eve. Banier was arrested this morning in his Parisian flat and is expected to be transfered to Bordeaux in coming days and could be charged for defrauding the L'Oréal heiress

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http://www.bjp-online.com/british-journal-of-photography/news/2131905/photographer-fran-ois-marie-banier-arrested-paris