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Defendant Jean-Pierre Mattei (L) arrives with his lawyer Sebastien Schapira at Nanterre courthouse, on December 1, 2025, for the opening hearing in the trial of seven people before the Criminal Court, for attempted fraud and corruption against oil giant TotalEnergies. The defendants are suspected of having, to varying degrees, worked to establish an arbitration tribunal in 2009, at the initiative of the Russian regions of Saratov and Volgograd (in the south-west of the country) and the Russian company Interneft. Businessman André Guelfi, known as "Dédé la sardine," is suspected of having played a leading role in setting up this arbitration, which has been denounced by TotalEnergies. (Photo by Thomas SAMSON / AFP via Getty Images)