Strasbourg IHU and Ircad: 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”.

“I take note of the opening of this investigation, but do not wish to comment further at this stage of the procedure and I let justice do its job”, reacted Benoît Gallix, questioned by AFP.

Professor Jacques Marescaux did not wish to speak for the moment.

For his part, Philippe Richert, chairman of the board of directors of the IHU since the beginning of April, considered that this investigation was “the normal sequence of things” and said he was “personally, quite confident” about its outcome. , considering the relationship between the IHU and Ircad “healthy and clear”.

“This will allow us, I hope, to turn the page to devote ourselves” to the medical mission of the IHU, he added, specifying that Professor Didier Mutter, until then medical director of the IHU , was to become its general manager.

A few days after his report to the PNF in June, Professor Gallix had been removed from his post 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 had told him that the dismissal procedure for Benoît Gallix had been initiated before the report to the PNF, because of a “climate of mistrust”, a “total lack of confidence” and “financial problems” with “unauthorized expenses”.

Evaluation

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.

In 2023, the first six IHUs in France, including that of Strasbourg, must be evaluated with a view to a possible extension of their public funding for the period 2025-2030.