A Masonic lodge in the Paris suburbs. A venerable master with a business grudge. A hit squad staffed by French intelligence officers. And a contract killing that unravelled because the gunmen believed they were serving the state.

Twenty-two defendants went on trial in France on Monday, accused of running what investigators describe as a criminal enterprise from inside the Athanor Masonic Lodge in Puteaux. The charges include murder, attempted murder, aggravated assault, and criminal conspiracy. Thirteen face life imprisonment.

The alleged ringleaders are three Athanor Freemasons: Jean-Luc Bagur, 69, the lodge’s “venerable master”; Frédéric Vaglio, 53, an entrepreneur who allegedly acted as intermediary; and Daniel Beaulieu, 72, a retired domestic intelligence officer who reportedly deployed the hit squad. According to the investigation, Bagur paid €70,000 to have business rival Marie-Hélène Dini eliminated.

The scheme collapsed in July 2020 when two armed military personnel were arrested near Dini’s home. Under questioning, they claimed they believed the operation was state-sanctioned and that Dini worked for Mossad. Dini, a 60-year-old business coach, told Le Monde she understood “absolutely nothing” when police informed her she was the target of a murder plot. “I felt like I was in Russia,” she said. “As if I had unwittingly stepped into something a little mafia-like.”

The lodge’s alleged crimes extended well beyond Dini. Hit squad leader Sébastien Leroy — a security guard who told police he thought he was acting on behalf of the government — admitted in custody to carrying out assaults, robberies, and at least one killing. In 2018, racing driver Laurent Pasquali was found dead in a forest, allegedly murdered over a debt owed to Vaglio’s associates. A businesswoman was assaulted in the street and robbed of her laptop in an act of industrial espionage. An associate of Bagur’s discovered financial fraud in his company; her car was later set on fire.

Among the 22 defendants are four DGSE military intelligence personnel, two police officers, a retired domestic intelligence agent, and several Freemasons. Most had no previous criminal record.

Dini’s lawyer, Jean-William Vezinet, put it plainly: “The key figures in this case — police officers, former DGSI agents and Freemasons — are precisely the people who are supposed to act for the good of society.”

Beaulieu attempted suicide in custody and now suffers from what his lawyer described to AFP as “impaired concentration,” leaving it unclear what testimony the prosecution can extract. The trial is expected to last at least three months.

Sources