Corruption probe reopened against Sylvie Goulard

Paris, The Gulf Observer: French prosecutors have said that they had opened a corruption investigation into top central banker Sylvie Goulard, who simultaneously stepped down from the Bank of France.

Friday’s announcement comes after graft-fighting group Anticor filed a criminal report in June, with the investigation launched in September.

The probe covers suspicions of accepting bribes, influence peddling, illegal conflicts of interest and breach of trust, the national financial prosecutor’s office said, confirming a report from daily Liberation.

In a statement, the Bank of France said Goulard — a former MEP and briefly defence minister under President Emmanuel Macron in 2017 — would be leaving her post as one of the institution’s deputy governors on December 5.

She wished to “return to the foreign ministry” where she started her civil service career, the bank said.

A source close to Goulard said that her departure had “nothing to do with the investigation”.”Neither Sylvie Goulard nor her lawyer were informed that the investigation had been reopened,” the source said.