Areva ex-CEO wants expert to probe UraMin report

PARIS Feb 8 (Reuters) - Former Areva head Anne Lauvergeon asked a French court on Wednesday to appoint an expert to examine the circumstances under which the nuclear group ordered a probe in 2010 into the controversial purchase of Canadian miner UraMin.

UraMin is at the centre of a dispute between the ousted chief executive and the state-owned group, which has withheld her 1.5 million-euro ($2 million) severance bonus and written down almost all of the value of the $2.5 billion transaction.

The role of Lauvergeon, removed by the government in June, came into focus late last year when she found a confidential report by ALP Services revealing her spouse had been spied upon to see if he had "illegally benefited" from the acquisition.

This document came after a report in March 2010 by Marc Eichinger, owner of small French intelligence company Assistance Petroleum International Capital (APIC), suggesting UraMin may have been a scam.

Lauvergeon and her lawyers blame those who received the 2010 investigation report for not respecting Areva's internal controls by raising the alarm as soon as they read that the acquisition could have been fraudulent.

The APIC study prompted Areva to order a counter investigation that led to the ALP Services report. Both reports were commissioned by Areva's security offices, with the ALP one under the responsibility of mining chief Sebastien de Montessus.

Lauvergeon and her lawyers claim the APIC report does her "considerable harm in terms of image and reputation."

"The APIC report plays, so it seems, a central role because it is a pseudo justification to use illegal means (thereafter)," Lauvergeon told journalists at the court on Wednesday.

Areva's lawyer, Jean Reinhart, told the court the APIC report did not call the ex-CEO into question.

"One cannot victimise oneself all the time," he said. "Is there a legitimate reason to get an expert? To do what? Mrs Lauvergeon has not suffered any harm because of the APIC report."

APIC's lawyer asked only that the court respect the confidentiality clause the company had signed with Areva.

The UraMin deal was made at a time of booming demand for enriched uranium and a battle among mining players to secure access to new reserves, as high oil prices and concern about global warming led to a worldwide nuclear renaissance.

Getting UraMin's three African mines in South Africa, Namibia and the Central African Republic to produce uranium proved much tougher and costlier than expected. At the time they were expected to produce around 7,000 tonnes annually from 2012.

Since the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi plant in Japan last March, the worst nuclear disaster since Chernobyl, several countries have turned their backs on nuclear power, pushing uranium prices sharply lower.

The write-down prompted Areva, the French industry ministry and parliament to launch separate investigations into the 2007 UraMin deal.

The Paris civil court will give its decision on Lauvergeon's request on Feb. 29.

Judges will also rule on Feb. 22 on whether Areva was right to suspend the severance payment to Lauvergeon pending the outcome of the UraMin investigation.

"I accepted a lot less than what was theoretically due, I'm not one of these greedy managers who only think about money, it's logical that Areva behaves normally," Lauvergeon said. ($1 = 0.7552 euros) (Reporting by Benjamin Mallet; Writing by Caroline Jacobs; Editing by David Cowell)