Bad news for Macron: his consulting firm was sentenced to 573 million dollars for fraud.
The American consulting firm McKinsey, recruited by Emmanuel Macron in his vaccination campaign, has just been sentenced to pay 573 million dollars for fraud in the opioid crisis that had caused 52,000 deaths in the United States.
In the midst of a political-social crisis, Emmanuel Macron is taking a beating. After a disastrous vaccination campaign that has made France the laughing stock of the world and after France's unprecedented elimination in the race for the vaccine, a new misfortune has just befallen the president. One of his most important advisers in the management of the health crisis is pinned by the American justice system for fraud.
It is McKinsey. McKinsey made headlines in early January when it was revealed in the press that he had been recruited by the French government to advise Emmanuel Macron in his management of the immunization campaign, particularly on the issue of logistics. The information was confirmed by the Elysée Palace, which, however, never wanted to reveal the amount of the remuneration. However, in the press, it is claimed that McKinsey has already received at least 100 million euros from the French State.
"No one is a prophet in his own home," the saying goes. And the McKinsey case seems to confirm this. In fact, several American media, including the New York Times, revealed on January 4 that the American firm was condemned to pay 573 million dollars for its role in the opioid crisis. According to the same source, the multinational has reached this agreement with prosecutors based in 47 American states.
The same information was confirmed by another American media, the New York Post.
According to this source, which goes back over the causes of the enormous sanction imposed on McKinsey, the firm chosen by Emmanuel Macron helped the pharmaceutical giant Purdue Pharma boost its sales of OxyContin while the drug was wreaking havoc in the United States.
"At the heart of the 15-year relationship between McKinsey and Purdue, the U.S. firm was asked to implement a strategy aimed at boosting OxyContin sales by targeting doctors, i.e. those who published major scientific articles praising the drug," explains the New York Post.
This Thursday, the condemnation sparked a wave of reactions and some see it as a relief for the families of the victims. General Becerra, a U.S. attorney, reacted: "We've reached a $573 million deal with McKinsey for helping opioid manufacturers promote their drugs and take advantage of the epidemic to make money. The opioid epidemic has plunged many Americans into mourning. Today's verdict holds McKinsey responsible.
The news of McKinsey's conviction is a blow to Macron in the midst of a health crisis. Will the government continue to work with the U.S. cabinet? That is the question we are asking ourselves and we will know something about it in the days and months to come.
