French Minister Dati Faces Corruption Trial as Court Rejects Appeal in Renault-Ghosn Case

A possible trial for corruption? The appeal of the current Minister of Culture against the indictment of the National Financial Prosecutor’s Office (PNF) requesting that she be tried for corruption with the former CEO of Renault, Carlos Ghosn, was rejected on Thursday by the Paris Court of Appeal. "We will propose to Rachida Dati to file an appeal (in cassation) against this decision," said Olivier Pardon, one of the lawyers of the former Keeper of the Seals, after the deliberation. 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.

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 CEO of Renault, 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 request for nullity with the investigation chamber of the Paris Court of Appeal. According to her lawyers, this indictment is based on documents that were canceled by the courts in 2022. These documents concern in particular other clients of Dati such as the telecom 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 canceled documents were not cited in the document and that the violation of professional secrecy that 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 is said to have received 900,000 euros in fees between 2010 and 2012 when she was a lawyer and a member of the European Parliament. In late July 2021, she was indicted in this case. This amount 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.

In a statement to Challenge.fr, the magistrate asserts that "her consulting services have been real and effective."