Management of the Strasbourg IHU: investigation by the financial prosecutor’s office

The investigation was opened on August 24 and the investigations currently consist of checks carried out by the PNF, he told AFP, confirming information from the regional daily Latest news from Alsace (DNA).

This investigation follows a report, unveiled by the weekly Marianne in June, from Professor Benoît Gallix, former director general of the University Hospital Institute (IHU) in Strasbourg.

It mainly focused on the financial flows between the IHU and Ircad, the Institute for research against cancers of the digestive tract in Strasbourg, directed by Pr Jacques Marescaux, who also directed the IHU until 2020. It was also aimed at a former patient accommodation project.

“Excessive billing”

According to the DNAs, Professor Benoît Gallix, among other things, pointed out what he considers to be abusive invoicing from Ircad to the IHU, explaining that “it was the same person who validated the invoices for the IHU and fixed the prices for Ircad”.

A few days after his report to the PNF, Professor Gallix was removed from his position as director general of the IHU by the board of directors, a decision which he had interpreted as a “direct measure of reprisal”.

Philippe Richert, president of the IHU since April, had affirmed for his part that the dismissal procedure for Benoît Gallix had been initiated before the report to the PNF, because of a “climate of mistrust”, a “lack of total confidence” and “financial problems” with “unauthorized expenses”.

Specialized in image-guided surgery for pathologies of the digestive system, the IHU of Strasbourg was founded in November 2011 by both public actors, such as the University of Strasbourg and the University Hospitals of Strasbourg, and private players, such as Ircad or the ARC foundation for cancer research.