The Family affair, which caused an earthquake in French Tech, is getting worse

© YouTube/The Family/Presse-citron montage

The hiccups are piling up for the former French Tech guru, Oussama Ammar. The co-founder of the former flagship incubator, The Family, must now face a compromising court decision in the United Kingdom.

The British justice system is getting involved

As a reminder, Alice Zagury and Nicolas Colin, the other co-founders of The Family, filed a complaint in March 2022 against their former partner for embezzlement of funds, initially intended to support successful American start-ups such as SpaceX, Stripe or Airbnb. The damage is estimated at 4.5 million euros. The case was brought in the Cayman Islands, France and the United Kingdom, where the injured investors are domiciled.

In the Cayman Islands, Oussama Ammar was ordered in December 2023 to pay more than 7 million euros to The Family. This sum includes both the embezzled funds and the loss of earnings for the incubator. For the time being, no judgment has been handed down in France.

However, it is across the Channel that things are getting complicated for Oussama Ammar. On July 12, 2024, the High Court of Justice in London struck the businessman and his personal holding companies out of the proceedings for not having paid an ordered deposit, under a specific feature of British law. This decision allows the plaintiffs to demand compensation without going to trial.

As a result, they are seeking €9.6 million in compensation. Added to this are approximately €1.5 million in lawyers' and court costs, bringing the total financial risk, taking into account other cases, to approximately €20 million for Ammar.

The Family, former flagship incubator of French Tech

The main interested party reacted in a publication on LinkedIn, assuring that the freezing of his assets had prevented him from defending himself. Interviewed by Le Monde, he stated that “ the order is due to the fact that I could not pay my lawyers because I focused my defense on the Caymans “. However, he chose to defend himself in the archipelago, with the assistance of artificial intelligence, reports the French daily.

The case sent shockwaves through the French startup ecosystem. Founded in 2013, The Family played a crucial role in the development of French Tech. The company established itself as one of the most influential incubators in France in the 2010s, helping to hatch successful startups such as PayFit, Algolia and Doctrine.

It offered not only financial resources, but also a network of contacts and essential strategic advice for young companies. Due to litigation, its French branch closed in 2022.

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