France reopens probe into Macron's chief of staff

[PARIS] Investigators have reopened a conflict of interest probe into President Emmanuel Macron's chief of staff, Alexis Kohler, over his links to Swiss-Italian shipping giant MSC, sources told AFP on Wednesday.

An initial criminal investigation by the economic crimes prosecutor's office was dropped in August last year, prompting campaign group Anticor to file a civil complaint.

On Monday, investigating magistrates agreed to take up the Anticor complaint, sources said, confirming a report by investigative website Mediapart.

As a senior civil servant in the economy ministry before Mr Macron's election in 2017, Mr Kohler is alleged to have worked on matters involving the shipyard STX France, where MSC was a major client.

MSC was founded by billionaire cousins of Mr Kohler's mother and Mr Kohler himself joined the company as finance director in 2016 while continuing to work as an adviser on Mr Macron's presidential campaign.

Two years ago, police raided the economy ministry as part of their inquiry into Kohler, who was also Mr Macron's chief of staff at the ministry between 2014 and 2016.

The presidency has denied his aide did anything wrong.

Mr Macron confirmed last year that he had known of Mr Kohler's family ties when appointing him in 2014, and added that Mr Kohler was not involved in MSC-related decisions after coming aboard.

Late on Wednesday, the presidency described the reopening of the investigation as an "automatic consequence" of the Anticor complaint being filed, saying the judges would consider the case with "full independence".

Leftist opponents often accuse Mr Macron, a former investment banker, of being too close to business leaders.

The allegations against Mr Kohler add to a list of legal investigations into Mr Macron's allies - including Richard Ferrand, who stepped down as housing minister because of a probe into a property deal, but is now the speaker of parliament.

Mr Kohler had also been questioned in a probe into a scandal involving Mr Macron's former bodyguard Alexandre Benalla, and a Senate commission of inquiry said it suspected Mr Kohler had withheld information in that case.

AFP