Paris (France) (AFP) – France prosecutors on Monday sought two years with an electronic tag and a five-year ban on public office for ex-culture minister Rachida Dati in a trial on corruption charges linked to dealings with the Renault-Nissan group. They sought a four-year jail term for Carlos Ghosn, the fugitive former Renault-Nissan chief now living in Lebanon, who is being tried in absentia as part of the same trial in Paris. The decision is expected to be announced in several months’ time.
One of the most prominent figures on the French right, Dati, 60, resigned as culture minister in February to concentrate on the Paris mayoral race in March but suffered a bruising defeat. Socialist Emmanuel Gregoire won city hall, but Dati remains mayor of the capital’s wealthy seventh district.
She stands charged with corruption and influence peddling over alleged lobbying for Renault-Nissan between October 2009 and February 2013 while she was a member of the European Parliament. She became an MEP after serving as justice minister between 2007 and 2009 under right-wing President Nicolas Sarkozy.
She has been accused of accepting 900,000 euros (around $1.0 million) in lawyers’ fees from a Netherlands-based subsidiary of Renault-Nissan.
© 2024 AFP
