Paris - The Paris prosecutor on Friday opened a formal investigation to find out what happened to hundreds of missing documents that were to be used as evidence in an inquiry into members of the Church of Scientology, judicial sources said.
Authorities were expected in the coming days to name an investigating magistrate to carry out the probe, judicial officials said, speaking on condition they not be named.
The dossiers, which disappeared in 1998 from the French justice ministry, were part of a case opened in 1990 against 16 regional Scientology leaders for alleged fraud, illegal practice of medicine and premeditated violence.
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In June, the ministry said it had asked the judicial watchdog organisation to investigate Judge Marie-Paule Moracchini, who was handling the Scientology case when certain records were lost and others destroyed. She risks possible disciplinary sanctions.
Justice Minister Elisabeth Guigou has said she believed fraud was involved in the dossiers' disappearance.
France has long had a contentious relationship with the Church of Scientology, which is seeking recognition as a legitimate religion in Europe.
In France, the Los Angeles-based Church of Scientology figures on a list of 173 groups that should be tracked to prevent cult activities.
The organisation's French headquarters could not be reached for comment late on Friday.
A Paris court decided in September to go ahead with the case against the Scientologists despite the loss of the documents.
The case stemmed from a complaint by a former Scientologist, Juan Esteban Cordero, who accused the Church of Scientology of "progressive mental conditioning" that led him to spend more than $177 000 (about R1,2-million) on Scientology-related courses. - Sapa-AP
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