Areva did Areva underestimate terrorist attacks on its Arlit uranium mine site in northern Niger, or was this a mistake? The French investigating judges have alleged that Orano, the nuclear giant, was involved in the kidnapping in Niger of five French citizens by the Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb organization (Aqmi), in 2010.
Monday's indictment of Areva for "unintentional injury" was made in Paris during the Paris investigation into this kidnapping.
This judicial investigation is open to the antiterrorism unit since 2013. The magistrate in charge of it believes Areva ignored warnings about the weaknesses of the protection system.
Francoise Larribe was released after five months in captivity. She was ill. On October 29, 2013, the other four hostages were freed.
During interrogation, the group revealed that Areva and Vinci, a French construction company, had paid a ransom for Areva's release. The ransom was 12.5 million Euros for the first three hostages, followed by 30 million Euros for the remaining four.
The group, on the other hand, denied any failures in risk management and made sure that employees were protected as a priority.
