Paris - One of French President Emmanuel Macron's closest
confidants, Alexis Kohler, is being investigated for an alleged
conflict of interest, the state financial prosecutor confirmed
Monday.
The investigation focuses on whether Kohler - who is the current
general secretary at the Elysee Palace - breached civil service rules
in his involvement with Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC).
Kohler previously worked in France's investment agency - referred to
as Agence des participations de l'Etat - and as a senior official in
the economy ministry, before joining MSC in 2016.
The prosecutor is interested in whether he gave unfair influence to
MSC while he worked for the economy ministry, with the company
attaining a number of key state contracts during this time.
Kohler, who worked for several months as MSC's finance director, is
related to the family that owns the company through his mother, the
daily newspaper Le Monde reported on its website.
According to a statement released by the prosecutor, the
investigation was launched in light of the information published by
French media.
The investigators are interested in whether conflict of interest
rules for civil servants have been respected, but made no reference
to a separate complaint filed against Kohler by anti-corruption
organization Anticor.
The Elysee Palace responded that Kohler had taken note of the
complaint and dismissed the allegations as completely unfounded, said
news agency AFP.