ALLEGED FRENCH FRAUDS

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 242, 6 July 1908, Page 7

ALLEGED FRENCH FRAUDS

■; « ROCHETTE CASE. (BT TELEGRAPH—PRESS ASSOCIATION —COPYRIGHT.) Paris, July 3. The! paper "Le ;Matin" was mulctetd in £2000' damages for alleging that M. Humbert was concerned in questionable transactions with Rochetto. ' The Paris correspondent of the "Express" has something to say in Kocliette's favour. Ho writes:—3l. Kochette, tho Paris banker, who has returned here, declares that he will be able to save not only his various companies, but also the banking house which ho founded, the Credit Minier. He said: "I am certain that I shall bo ablo to find sufficient capital —if not here, at_ all events in_ London—whoro I r have many friends and believers." 'He states that ho was arrested to save, the stockbrokers of tho Paris Bourse from having to disburse '£175,000. 'When a rise in tho shares of the companies ocourred there were people who believed that it could not be maintained, and that p,' fall was bound to follow. . "Those 1 firms," lie says,' "accepted many orders from their clients to buy the .£4 shares of my companies at prices varving from dSB to ,£lO, but iustead of going into tho market and buying tho shares, so convinced were they that tlio fall would come that they did nothing of tho sort. Then the shares rose to ,£2O, and tho timo'camo for them to deliver tho scrip. • ' . ' "They had orders for 28;000 shares, and they were faced with, the prospect of having to buy that number at tho high premium which tho shares had attained. ,My arrest on what was after all a trivial pretext-caused a fall in tho shares. and thus tho stockbrokers saved a matter of £175,000. When I was nrrosted I had not only ,£400,000 in hand, but I had another .£400,000 owing to i me." The general opinion in Paris (adds tho correspondent) is that whatevor may bo behind tho case, M. Rochetto is a financier of such ability that ho will certainly find new backers. Thoro is also ono groat point in his favour, which is that ho _ was apparently a 'devoted father, and that in his caso thoro has boon no question of wasting money in riotous living.