French police raid home of Culture Minister Rachida Dati in graft probe
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A probe was opened into Ms Dati on Oct 14, over possible corruption, influence peddling and embezzlement of public funds.
PHOTO: AFP
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- French police searched Rachida Dati's home and office on Dec 18 as part of a corruption probe.
- Dati is accused of accepting undeclared payments from GDF Suez while in the European Parliament.
- The investigation, opened in October, concerns corruption, influence peddling and embezzlement of public funds.
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PARIS - French police on Dec 18 searched the homes of Culture Minister Rachida Dati, as well as the ministry and the Paris town hall she presides over, as part of a corruption probe, a source close to the case told AFP.
The police raid comes as Ms Dati, who heads the town hall in the seventh district of Paris, is campaigning to be elected mayor of the French capital in 2026.
Ms Dati, 60, has been accused of accepting nearly €300,000 (S$450,000) in undeclared payments from major energy group GDF Suez while a member of the European Parliament between 2010 and 2011.
She has denied any wrongdoing.
Her lawyer Olivier Pardo declined to comment to AFP on Dec 18’s raids.
The national financial prosecutor’s office on Dec 18 said it had opened an investigation on Oct 14 into Ms Dati over possible corruption, influence peddling and embezzlement of public funds.
It said the searches targeted locations including “the city hall of Paris’s seventh district and the ministry of culture, as well as private residences”.
A source close to the case told AFP that a search was conducted at Ms Dati’s home.
Ms Dati held a seat in the European Parliament from 2009 to 2019 on behalf of France’s main right-wing party, and has been repeatedly accused of influence peddling.
Accusations that she was lobbying on behalf of GDF Suez first emerged in French media reports in 2013 and the European Parliament’s ethics committee questioned her.
French investigative television show “Complement d’Enquete” and the Nouvel Observateur magazine renewed the allegations in June.
She was accused by both outlets of accepting €299,000 from GDF Suez in two payments that transited through a now-defunct law firm, STC Partners, which coincided with her taking pro-gas positions in public and in Parliament.
Undeclared jewellery accusation
Ms Dati has been accused in several cases.
She was charged in 2021 with “passive corruption” over her dealings with disgraced former Renault chief Carlos Ghosn, also while she was a member of the European Parliament.
She is accused of accepting €900,000 in lawyer’s fees from 2010-2012 from a Netherlands-based subsidiary of Renault-Nissan.
Ms Dati also denies wrongdoing in that case.
In another case, prosecutors said in September that they were looking into reports she failed to declare luxury jewellery.
In April, French daily Liberation reported that Ms Dati had not declared jewellery and watches worth €420,000 upon taking ministerial office.
Citing Ms Dati’s asset declaration from 2024, Liberation reported that the politician declared wealth of some €5.6 million in real estate, savings and life insurance.
There was no mention of jewellery.
She retorted in May that she had “nothing to put in order”.
Ms Dati wants to become the French capital’s second woman mayor in a row in the March 2026 municipal vote.
She hopes to replace Socialist mayor Anne Hidalgo, 66, who is to step down after two terms in the post.
Ms Dati has served as culture minister under four prime ministers since early 2024, most recently under Sebastien Lecornu. AFP
