Former Adidas owner and scandalous French tycoon Bernard Tapie and his wife were tied with electrical cables and severely beaten during a violent robbery at their home, according to authorities.
Tapie, 78, and his wife Dominique Tapie, 70, were sleeping at their home in Combs-la-Ville, near Paris, around 12:30 pm on Sunday, when four men broke into and tied them up, police said, according to with AFP.
The suspects hit Tapie on the head with a nightstick, but he did not want to be hospitalized, the agency said.
“My grandfather refused to be taken away,” said his grandson Rodolphe Tapie to the channel. “He is devastated, very tired. He was sitting on a chair when he was hit by a club. “
His wife – slightly injured by several blows to the face – managed to break free and find security at a neighbor’s house, where she called the police.
She was hospitalized for a brief check-up.
“She is fine,” the couple’s grandson told AFP.
The thieves pulled Dominique Tapie by the hair “because they wanted to know where the treasure was,” said Combs-la-Ville Mayor Guy Geoffroy. “But of course there was no treasure, and the fact that they didn’t find one made the violence worse.”
The suspects ran away with two watches, one Rolex, as well as earrings, bracelets and a ring, a source close to the investigation told AFP.
Bernard Tapie is an ex Socialist minister who came from humble beginnings, but ultimately built a sporting and media empire – before having legal problems.
He was the majority shareholder in the sportswear brand Adidas, as well as the owner of the football club Olympique de Marseille, which won the French championship during his ownership.
He also served briefly as a French minister of urban affairs for the government of François Mitterrand from 1992 to 1993.
But Tapie was then found guilty in several cases of corruption, tax fraud and misuse of corporate assets. He spent five months behind bars in 1997 and was banned from running for any French election.
After his release, he had to act and perform shows on TV and radio.
In 2012, he became head of the media, taking control of the French south daily La Provence and other newspapers.
Now he is facing a criminal trial over a € 404 million ($ 450 million today) fraudulent arbitration package linked to the sale of Adidas in the 1990s.
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