Sihem Souid, in Paris, October 5, 2010. JACQUES DEMARTHON / AFP
A new aspect of the bitter struggle for influence in which Qatar and its Gulf rivals fought in the late 2010s during the Gaz Emirate blockade is emerging. Following the revelations by Mediapart and then the New Yorker, at the request of the intelligence services, a destabilization and surveillance company would have targeted a key link in the network of Qatari influence in France – a state where Doha has invested in many sectors – the Emirates Arab States (UAE).
This campaign, which would have been orchestrated by Swiss company Alp Services, would have targeted Sihem Souid, Qatar’s main communicator in France and Belgium since 2015. Founded in 1989 and based in Geneva, Alp Services is led by Mario Brero, a figure in the world of detective and business intelligence in Switzerland. Despite an acquittal, Mr Brero was convicted by the Paris Criminal Court in 2014 of complicity and concealment in breach of professional secrecy for attempting to steal the “fadettes”, the detailed telephone bills, of ‘Anne Lauvergeon’s husband when she ran Areva.
Based on leaked data and witness testimonies, Mediapart assures that Alp Services sent its Emirati clients a “commercial offer” targeting Ms. Souid, director of communications company Edile Consulting.
“Destabilization Company”
According to information from Le Monde and Mediapart, on Thursday, March 30, the Franco-Tunisian adviser filed a complaint against X with the Paris Public Prosecutor’s Office for invasion of privacy, burglary at home, violation of the secrecy of letters, theft and imprisonment. Devices or technical devices capable of allowing operations to be carried out that could constitute these crimes “in connection with a destabilization operation carried out against the State of Qatar”. The complaint is against the United Arab Emirates and Alp Services.
The complainant relies on Mediapart’s revelations that Alp Services offered its services to the United Arab Emirates to “investigate” Ms Souid, her husband and her company and “find negative information”. The adviser also relies on a lengthy investigation by The New Yorker, published on March 27, which ensures Mr Brero would have offered his services to Emirati dignitaries in Abu Dhabi in August 2017. According to the American weekly, which is based on Alp Services’ “internal accounting”, between August 2017 and June 2020, 5.7 million euros were paid to Mr Brero by the United Arab Emirates.
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