PARIS -French prosecutors stated on Wednesday that they had opened a preliminary investigation into potential cash laundering and tax fraud linked to the position of personal consultancy corporations within the nation’s politics.
The inquiry by the nationwide monetary prosecution workplace (PNF) follows a report by the Senate, parliament’s higher home, on the rising use of personal consultancies by the federal government.
The usage of personal consultants by the federal government of President Emmanuel Macron, who has misplaced momentum in opinion polls forward of the primary spherical of presidential elections on Sunday, has emerged as a shock concern within the marketing campaign.
Rivals accuse Macron’s administration of lavishly spending taxpayers’ cash on worldwide corporations that pay little or no taxes in France.
In accordance with a Senate report final month, ministries have greater than doubled spending on outdoors consultants from 379 million euros ($417 million) in 2018 to 894 million euros final yr.
Final week the federal government stated it had “nothing to cover” relating to its use of consultants together with U.S.-based McKinsey & Co, which has come underneath elevated scrutiny within the nation.
The Senate, which is dominated by the conservatives, has stated it's launching authorized motion towards McKinsey, alleging that an organization government gave false testimony when he instructed senators McKinsey was paying company taxes in France.
The PNF on Wednesday didn't specify which corporations had been the goal of the preliminary investigation.
McKinsey didn't instantly reply to a request for touch upon Wednesday.
The agency has beforehand stated its French arm paid 422 million euros ($465 million) in taxes and social prices from 2011 to 2020, with out specifying whether or not that included company levies.
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