The Paris prosecutor’s office confirmed on Monday June 12 that it had opened a preliminary investigation on June 2 into the campaign financing of the microparty of the Minister of the Economy, Bruno Le Maire. This structure called “Avec BLM” is targeted by the Brigade for the repression of economic delinquency (BRDE) of the Paris judicial police. She must determine if illegal donations were made through invoices from service providers not paid by this microparty, which had collected 2 million euros for the 2016 right-wing primary, according to Mediapart, which revealed the existence of the investigations. .
The minister is “surprised” that justice has been seized on the financing of his microparty, his entourage told Agence France-Presse on Monday, claiming that his campaign accounts had been validated. “We are surprised by the referral to justice by the National Commission for Campaign Accounts and Political Financing.
The investigations were launched on June 2 for “participation in the financing of a political party by a legal person through donations or the provision of advantages at a price lower than those usually practiced” and for “acceptance by the political party of these same advantages “, said the Paris prosecutor’s office. These offenses are punishable by 3 years imprisonment and a fine of 45,000 euros.
