Rachida Dati faces trial over alleged Renault-Nissan lobbying payments
The former culture minister denies corruption and influence-peddling allegations linked to €900,000 in legal fees paid while she was a European Parliament member.
Former French culture minister Rachida Dati has gone on trial at a Paris court over allegations that legal fees paid by a Renault-Nissan subsidiary disguised lobbying work during her time as a European Parliament member.
The case centres on a contract signed in October 2009 between Dati and Carlos Ghosn, then head of Renault-Nissan. Prosecutors allege the agreement provided Dati with an annual fee of €300,000 and was used to conceal lobbying activity. The allegations concern total payments of €900,000.
Dati denies wrongdoing. Her legal team says she worked exclusively as a lawyer for the Netherlands-based subsidiary and has described the influence-peddling allegations as unfounded.
Dati was placed under investigation in 2019 over her dealings with Ghosn and charged in 2021 with corruption and influence peddling. She remains mayor of Paris’s 7th district and previously served as justice minister.
Ghosn, the former Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance chairman and chief executive, is being tried in absentia. He was arrested in Japan in 2018 in a separate financial-misconduct case, later fleeing to Lebanon. The available material does not establish whether he will appear by video link.
Dati faces up to 10 years in prison, a fine of up to €450,000 and a possible five-year ban on holding public office if convicted. The allegations have not been proven in court, France 24 International reported.
