The French newspaper Le Parisien confirmed that the French financial prosecutor opened a judicial investigation directly affecting the President of the Republic, Emmanuel Macron, on suspicion of “illegal” financing for his election campaigns in 2017 and 2022.
Le Parisien added that the judicial investigation is examining the relations between the head of state and the McKinsey consulting firm, and the circumstances in which it missed public deals with huge sums of money for the American corporation.
The French news site said that 3 judges were assigned to conduct the investigations, including Serge Tournier, a judge who followed a file of corruption accusations against former Prime Minister Francois Fillon in 2017, and a fictitious recruitment story for his wife, Penelope.
Among the controversial deals, Le Parisien talked about a research deal to “develop the teacher’s profession” in France, which cost the Ministry of Education 500 thousand euros, noting that McKinsey did not pay any corporate tax in France between the years 2011 to 2020, at a time when the number of its transactions was estimated. In 2020, at about 329 million euros.
These new investigations come a few months after the French financial prosecutor's office announced at the beginning of last April the opening of a judicial investigation regarding allegations of money laundering and tax fraud against the American management consulting firm McKinsey and its association with political circles close to President Macron.
The investigation - which began on March 31 and targeted McKinsey and its tax status in France - revealed that it had been assigned several files related to the Judicial Investigation Service for funds, in addition to advising the Macron government on the Corona virus vaccine strategy.