The Crime of Possessing Vast Assets of Unexplained Origin

Marat glanced at the Crown Prince's expression, then at the Investigation Report in his hand, and immediately said:

"Your Highness, please give me some time. If they really did embezzle, I will definitely be able to find out!"

Joseph's brow remained furrowed upon hearing this.

He believed that with Marat's tenacious spirit, he would eventually find evidence of corruption against those officials—he had even uncovered evidence of corruption against the Governor of Poitou —but that would take far too long.

If we cannot deter officials who dare to oppose abolishing the Tax Farmer System in the shortest possible time, more people will follow suit, accepting bribes to join the ranks of those who oppose us.

After all, no matter how much the Postal Service system "collapses," the chaos will only last for a month at most, so we must act swiftly and convict all 40-plus people.

For a fleeting moment, Joseph even considered having the Intelligence Bureau fabricate evidence against these people.

However, he immediately dismissed the idea. Setting such a precedent would have disastrous consequences, and one day the Intelligence Department might be able to fabricate evidence against the Royal House family.

It's best to follow generally accepted political rules to avoid serious side effects.

Joseph subconsciously flipped through the Investigation Report in his hand and suddenly noticed that it stated that an official in a certain Southern Provinces had a total family fortune of 50,000 Franc, while his position was only a Judiciary Assistant in the City Hall, and his monthly salary should not exceed 60 Franc. Moreover, his family did not have any fiefdoms or titles, and obviously did not have any property.

In other words, if this guy didn't have any illicit income, he would have to work for 70 years without eating or drinking to accumulate this fortune.

He took office nine years ago, when Montauban, where he served, was still a very poor province.

Joseph turned to the next page.

This is the Municipal Commissioner of Poitiers, whose assets exceed 120,000 Franc. He does own an Manor, but it only produces about 2,500 Franc a year. This Manor was bought by his father 17 years ago and is far from contributing to his enormous wealth.

The situation of the next dozen or so people was roughly the same: they all had considerable wealth, but no businesses under their names that could generate that much money.

Joseph narrowed his eyes. The report contained information that investigators could find in a short time, so the official's actual assets should be more than that.

The phrase immediately came to his mind: the crime of possessing a huge amount of unexplained wealth.

Although it was impractical to enact this crime into law in the 18th century, and the legislative process would have been too time-consuming, the underlying principles could still be applied to investigating officials for their crimes.

You see, the Fair Investigation Department has the power of interrogation. And Marat has never liked bureaucracy; if he has a handle, he certainly won't hold back when interrogating someone.

Joseph immediately smiled and looked at Marat: "Mr. Marat, have you heard of the crime of 'possessing a huge amount of property with unexplained sources'?"

"Ah?"

Poitiers.

In an office of the Public Notary Investigation Bureau, Baron Gaston, the Municipal Commissioner, glared angrily at the two investigators in black before him, clenching his fists and saying:

"You dare summon me without any evidence! I will definitely report you to Her Majesty the Queen!"

"Please... please don't be nervous." Desmoulins looked at him calmly. "We... we were just having a chat with you. As for... as for prosecution, that's your right."

The Investigation Bureau has been extremely busy lately, and as the bureau's second-in-command, he also has to personally participate in the interrogation work.

He probably felt that he was speaking too inefficiently, so he gave his assistant a wink and then stepped aside.

The latter immediately took out a document and said to Baron Gaston in a deep voice, "Your assets exceed 120,000 Franc, is that right?"

"What does this have to do with you?!"

Desmoulins's assistant seemed to be talking to himself:

"You previously served as Assistant to the finance officer and a trade commissioner, and were promoted to Municipal Commissioner four years ago. We've calculated that your total salary over the years amounts to 7,820 Franc."

Gaston scoffed, "So what?"

"Since your purchase, the total income from your Manor should be 37,000 Franc. Your property in the east of the city has been rented out, and the rent over the years totals 4,000 Franc. You've written articles for the * Life and Salon Newspaper, and the fees for those articles total..."

"..."

"Your wife and children have no income. Your wife brought a dowry of 2,000 Franc. Do you think I've forgotten anything?"

Gaston just sneered, seemingly too lazy to pay him any attention.

"So all your income since birth adds up to 51,000 Franc," Desmoulins ' assistant mechanically read the data, "And your family's living expenses, including the purchase of your current property, daily food and clothing, club expenses, and... at least 18,000 Franc."

"That means your assets should be 33,000 Franc, but the property under your name exceeds 120,000 Franc."

He suddenly leaned close to Cast, his nose almost touching the latter's face:

"So, where did the extra 87,000 Franc come from?"

"Extra... extra?" Gaston was immediately dumbfounded by the question, because he had never heard of such an interrogation.

He became somewhat nervous. "It's... the inheritance my father left me."

"You're lying! Your total estate tax was 720 Livre, which means you inherited less than Livre."

"Oh, I remember now, it's from the dividends I received after investing in a friend's business."

"Okay, what's his name, where does he live, and what kind of business does he do?"

"..." Gaston couldn't come up with anything, and finally gritted his teeth and said, "So what if I'm rich? It was all given to me by friends who admire me!"

Desmoulins, who was standing nearby, suddenly smiled, "Who... who gave you the money?"

"It's none of your business!"

"Of course... it concerns me," Desmoulins shouted. "Giving money to an official for no reason... that's bribery!"

Gaston was interrogated for two days and two nights. Then, Desmoulins applied to the High Court for a two-day extension. Joseph had already instructed the court through the Royal Supreme Court, so all such applications were quickly approved.

Although Gaston was Nobility, the investigators, who were mainly Jacobin, disliked Nobility the most. So, apart from not directly beating him, they used all sorts of methods, such as coercion, intimidation, and sleep deprivation.

Finally, on the afternoon of the second day, Gaston couldn't hold back any longer and began to confess to the embezzlement.

Many movies and TV dramas depict criminals with exceptional mental fortitude, stubbornly denying everything during interrogation. However, in reality, most people can't even last half a day in an interrogation room before their psychological defenses crumble.

In particular, Desmoulins relentlessly attacked the issue of "source of wealth," making it impossible for Gaston to deceive her.

Meanwhile, similar situations were unfolding across France. Investigators from the Public Notary Investigation Bureau had a very successful investigation.