PARIS: French far-right leader Marine Le Pen lashed out Sunday over a press report detailing allegations that her party misused EU funds to pay its employees.
"The JDD ... comes out again with the same perennial story of parliamentary aides, as with every election," Le Pen said on Twitter.Le Pen, her father Jean-Marie Le Pen and top members of the National Rally party have been charged with misuse of public funds in connection with salaries paid to EU parliamentary aides.
The Journal du Dimanche cited a 98-page report by France's anti-corruption office dated Feb 15 that summarises findings of an investigation opened in 2015. Justice Minister Eric Dupond-Moretti denied RN accusations that the report was deliberately leaked to the newspaper.But Europe minister Clement Beaune said it showed"for the RN in the European Parliament, it was pretty much grab the cash and get out of there".The JDD report said the party is suspected of having put in place an"embezzlement system ... in a concerted and deliberate manner".
The employees were working for the party while being paid out of a monthly 21,000 euro allowance from the European Parliament, the report said.Sources close to the investigation told AFP that it could not be completed in 2020 as hoped due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Singapore Latest News, Singapore Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.