Banque de France Deputy Governor Sylvie Goulard on Thursday called Anticor’s “allegations” “inaccurate” and “slanderous” after the anti-corruption association filed a new complaint against her targeting her former services provided for an American think tank.

Sylvie Goulard was MEP, ephemeral Minister of the Armies of Emmanuel Macron in 2017 and is currently number three of the Banque de France since 2018.

“Ms. Goulard would like to point out that Anticor’s allegations are inaccurate and slanderous,” her lawyer, Me Laureline Giron, told AFP.

“In 2019, the European Anti-Fraud Office ruled out any breach of his obligations as a member of the European Parliament and in 2020, the National Financial Prosecutor’s Office dismissed the case for lack of infringement following an in-depth investigation” , she added. “Ms. Goulard reserves the right to take any appropriate action in this regard.”

Anticor wants an investigating judge to investigate former services provided by Ms. Goulard, when she was a European deputy for the Berggruen Institute.

The anti-corruption association wonders about the reality of the work done by the former MEP for this American think tank but also and above all about the possible counterparties in exchange for the remuneration paid under this contract.

Anticor had already filed a simple complaint in 2019. The PNF had opened a preliminary investigation, closed without further action in November 2020.

But Anticor considers the investigations carried out by the PNF “insufficient” and filed in Paris, on June 9, a complaint with civil action, which almost systematically allows referral to an investigating judge to carry out investigations.

Consulted by AFP, this document targets the offenses of passive corruption, passive influence peddling, illegal taking of interest and breach of trust.

Ms. Goulard had admitted having worked as a “special adviser” for more than 10,000 euros monthly between October 2013 and January 2016 with the Council for the Future of Europe, a think tank founded by the Berggruen Institute, when she was an MEP.

“We did activities that were part of reflection, group animation, organization of meetings. It’s work that has been proven,” she insisted during a hearing before the European Parliament.

6/23/2022 15:33:17 –         Paris (AFP) –         © 2022 AFP