François Garcin sues MARA for €11M over unpaid Exaion fees
François Garcin, the executive that MARA Holdings (NASDAQ: MARA) hired to build its European business and win French sign-off to buy EDF’s Exaion, has sued the company in a New York federal court. Garcin filed a 40-page complaint, claiming more than €11 million in unpaid fees. Th
François Garcin, the executive that MARA Holdings (NASDAQ: MARA) hired to build its European business and win French sign-off to buy EDF’s Exaion, has sued the company in a New York federal court. Garcin filed a 40-page complaint, claiming more than €11 million in unpaid fees. The case was filed in the Southern District of New York and reported by the French Bitcoin institute INBi.
Why is Francois Garcin suing MARA Holdings? François Garcin was hired as an executive by MARA Holdings (NASDAQ: MARA) to lead its European expansion and secure French approval for the Exaion takeover, but now he is suing the company for more than €11 million ($12 million), which he claims it refused to pay after terminating his contract in March. Garcin’s contract was signed on June 22, 2025, and it gave him exclusive authority over what the filing calls “Project Nebula.”
This included the Exaion purchase and planned joint ventures with French energy firms. His pay package included an advisory fee of €2.4 million and a success commission of 4% of MARA’s total investment in Exaion.
The deal closed on February 20, 2026. MARA paid roughly €148 million (about $168 million) for a 64% stake in Exaion. As part of the transaction, Xavier Niel’s NJJ took a 10% stake in MARA France, and Niel and Thiel both joined Exaion’s board.
Under the contract terms, Garcin was owed a commission of about €5.92 million (around $6.4 million).
He also says MARA still owed him €1 million (about $1.08 million) of his advisory fee. Just two weeks after the deal closed, on March 6, MARA terminated Garcin’s contract without paying the commission or the remaining fee.
MARA told Garcin the dispute was over a VAT tax issue, but Garcin’s filing rejects that explanation. He points out that MARA had already paid seven months of his earlier invoices, and those invoices included French VAT without any complaint. The company has not yet filed a response in court.
Why was the Exaion deal so controversial in France? Garcin explai
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