French judge to investigate Rafale deal
A French judge has been tasked with investigating suspicions of “corruption” in the ₹59,000 crore (7.8 billion euro) deal with India for 36 Rafale jets, the French national financial prosecutor’s office has said.
The Parquet National Financier (PNF) or national financial prosecutor refused to investigate the deal in 2019, when the agency’s then head Eliane Houlette dismissed a complaint filed by French anti-corruption NGO Sherpa.
Following a fresh complaint from Sherpa on the basis of a series of reports on the Rafale deal by news website Mediapart, PNF appointed a judge to lead a judicial investigation into suspected “corruption” and “favouritism”, Mediapart reported. The investigation was formally launched on June 14.
