30 May 2017, 10:47 GMT
MOSCOW (Sputnik) – In March, a preliminary probe into alleged fraud committed by French EU parliament members was launched after a member of right-wing National Front party (FN), Sophie Montel, sent a letter to French investigators asking them to check the activities of her colleagues from right, left and green parties of France. The investigators suspect the politicians of hiring their relatives and other people close to them for the position of an aide for non-parliamentary work, which was nevertheless paid by the EU parliament.
According to Le Parisien newspaper, the anti-corruption unit of the French police is going to conduct the investigation.
On Tuesday, De Sarnez refuted the allegations on Twitter, saying that none of the appointments that she had made during her work at the EU parliament violated the rules.
"I sent a complaint to [French] Republic's prosecutor against Sophie Montel over false denunciation," De Sarnez said on Twitter.
Meanwhile, the National Front's leader Marine Le Pen has also been under the same investigation after it was revealed that she had hired two assistants for non-parliamentary work, even though their services were paid by the EU parliament.
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