The French National Financial Prosecutor’s Office (PNF) commented on information from the newspaper The Parisian, this Thursday, November 24. Two judicial inquiries were opened at the end of October, he said, one “on the conditions of intervention of consulting firms in the electoral campaigns of 2017 and 2022”, the other on suspicions of “favoritism” in this file. It is Emmanuel Macron that is in question.
After the preliminary investigation opened on March 31, 2022, ” of the count of aggravated money laundering of aggravated tax evasion targeting the McKinsey group “, the financial public prosecutor Jean-François Bohnert announces the opening of two judicial inquiries, on October 20 and 21, in this file.
The first gate on the conditions for the intervention of consulting firms in the 2017 and 2022 election campaigns “, and more specifically on heads, in particular, of “ non-compliant keeping of campaign accounts and reduction of accounting elements in a campaign account “.
The second piece of information relates to suspicions of ” favoritism ” and of ” concealment of favoritism » concerning them; it results from several complaints lodged by associations and elected officials, specifies the public prosecutor financial in a press release published on the Twitter account of the PNF.
The Elysée reacted. The Presidency of the Republic explained to Agence France-Presse that it had ” we acknowledged “of the communication from the National Financial Prosecutor’s Office, this Thursday” It is up to the courts to conduct these investigations independently “, we are also assured at the Élysée Palace.
► Read also France: the Senate denounces excessive use of consulting firms by the State
During the last presidential election, on March 16, a Senate report sparked heated controversy by examining the use of public funds in terms of consulting firms. The opposition had called for an investigation into possible favoritism of the Macronist majority for the benefit of McKinsey.
This is following a daily article The Parisianentitled ” McKinsey case: Emmanuel Macron under investigation for illegal campaign financing “, that the PNF published this Thursday its press release for” clarify the situation of different criminal proceedings initiated after the Senate report.
? INFO THE PARISIAN | A judicial investigation opened for “illegal financing” of Emmanuel Macron’s campaign in 2017
In the background: the relationship between macronie and the McKinsey firm and the conditions for awarding public contracts
➡️ https://t.co/B1TnSspmfx pic.twitter.com/wa3UJIM0uL– The Parisian (@le_Parisian) November 24, 2022
In its report of March 16, the Senate commission of inquiry into the influence of private consulting firms on public policies, under the impetus of the majority communist CRCE group, assured that the contracts between the State and several firms had ” more than doubled between 2018 and 2021.
►Read again: McKinsey controversy : the French government demines in the middle of the presidential campaign
In sight: the McKinsey group. According to the Mediapart news site, some members of this American consulting firm may have worked for free during Emmanuel Macron’s victorious campaign in 2017, in addition to a possible tax arrangement for French McKinsey entities.
The Senate report was indeed concerned that the firm may, in addition, not have paid any tax in France between the years 2011 and 2020. The preliminary investigation of March 31 in addition gave rise to a search of the French headquarters of McKinsey on May 24.
►To re-read: France: search of the French premises of the private firm McKinsey
With agencies