Former Moroccan Ministers Defend Dati’s Role in Renault Deal Amid Corruption Trial Threat

According to the two former Moroccan ministers, Rachida Dati played a "strategic role" and intervened "personally" to save the Renault factory project, threatened by the 2008 global financial crisis and the repercussions of the "Arab Spring", helping to facilitate "the unblocking of public financing". The two former officials have presented their written testimonies. They are, according to Jeune Afrique, Mohamed Hassad, who was wali of the Tangier-Tetouan region and then Minister of the Interior, and Ahmed Reda Chami, former Minister of Industry. These two personalities were at the heart of the development of the "Renault Tanger Med" project, the cost of which reached one billion euros. Their testimonies could be of great help to the former Keeper of the Seals.

At the end of June, the Paris Court of Appeal rejected Dati’s appeal against the indictment of the National Financial Prosecutor’s Office (PNF) requesting that she be tried for corruption with the former Renault CEO Carlos Ghosn. After this rejection, it is up to the investigating judges to order or not a trial against Rachida Dati and Carlos Ghosn. Both of them contest the accusations. The Minister of Culture intends to challenge the judges’ decision. She assures that she will "fight this battle to the end". When asked about her continued ministerial duties, she replies bluntly: "Have I been convicted? Of course not. That’s all there is to say." A first hearing should take place on September 29 to set the date of the trial.

In November 2024, the PNF had requested the referral to the criminal court of Rachida Dati for "passive corruption and influence peddling by a person invested with a public elective mandate within an international organization", namely the European Parliament, as well as for "receiving misuse of power and breach of trust". It had also requested a trial against Carlos Ghosn, the former Renault CEO, who lives in Lebanon and is the subject of an international arrest warrant since 2023 in this case, for "abuse of power by a company director, breach of trust, active corruption and influence peddling".

Dissatisfied with this indictment, the defense of the current mayor of the 7th arrondissement of Paris had filed a nullity request with the investigation chamber of the Paris Court of Appeal. According to her lawyers, this indictment is based on documents annulled by the courts in 2022. These documents concern in particular other clients of Dati such as the telecoms group Orange. At the time, she was a lawyer. According to sources close to the case, the advocate general had requested the rejection of this request on the grounds that these annulled documents were not cited in the document and that the violation of professional secrecy they could constitute had never been raised by the defense during the procedure.

The former Keeper of the Seals is facing justice because of her consulting services to the former CEO of the Renault-Nissan alliance, Carlos Ghosn. She would have received 900,000 euros in fees between 2010 and 2012 while she was a lawyer and a Member of the European Parliament. At the end of July 2021, she had been indicted in this case. This sum represents fees paid to her by the Dutch subsidiary of Renault-Nissan, for her consulting activities with the former CEO of the Renault-Nissan alliance, Carlos Ghosn. Since 2019, the justice system has been trying to determine whether Rachida Dati’s income corresponds to specific activities or whether it is a case of a courtesy job that could have masked lobbying activities, which are prohibited for Members of the European Parliament.