Shedding light on the links between Sylvie Goulard, former Minister of the Armed Forces who became Deputy Governor at the Banque de France, and the Berggruen Institute, a think tank based in California.

This is the purpose of the judicial investigation opened on September 27 by the National Financial Prosecutor's Office, which confirmed information from Liberation on Friday.

The judicial investigation, triggered by a complaint from the Anticor association, was opened for passive corruption, passive influence peddling, illegal taking of interests and breach of trust.

"We are very satisfied that things are progressing and we are waiting to learn more," reacted one of Anticor's lawyers, Me Jean-Baptiste Soufron.

Last June, the anti-corruption association filed a complaint with a civil action, which almost systematically obtains referral to an investigating judge.

A fictitious job during her mandate as an MEP?

A first preliminary investigation opened after a simple complaint from Anticor in 2019 had resulted in the dismissal of the PNF in November 2020 for "absence of infringement".

In its complaint, the association wonders about the reality of the work carried out by the former MEP for the Berggruen Institute, a think tank based in California, and about the possible counterparties in exchange for the remuneration paid within the framework of this contract.

Sylvie Goulard admitted having worked as a “special adviser” for more than 10,000 euros monthly between October 2013 and January 2016 with the Council for the Future of Europe, a think tank created by the Berggruen Institute, when she was a MEP.

She had assured that this employment, authorized by the regulations, had been declared and that she had “no relationship of any kind with commercial activities” with the founder of the institute, the German-American billionaire Nicolas Berggruen.

The Berggruen Institute had denied at the time of the filing of the first complaint in 2019 any fictitious employment, referring in particular to the organization of a “round table in Brussels” and “conferences in Paris and Madrid”.



Coincidence or not, the Banque de France also announced in a press release on Friday the departure of its deputy governor since 2018, ephemeral Minister of the Armies of Emmanuel Macron in 2017. The decision will take effect on December 5.

Sylvie Goulard wanted to "join the Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs which is her original administration", according to the press release.

According to the entourage of the former minister, this departure “has nothing to do with the investigation”.

The former MEP is also indicted in the investigation of parliamentary assistants to MoDem MEPs.

Justice

National Financial Prosecutor's Office: Anticor wants a new investigation into Sylvie Goulard, after a first classification without follow-up

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