French President Emmanuel Macron's chief of staff, Alexis Kohler, has been put under formal investigation over a potential conflict of interest related to his links to an Italian-Swiss shipping company, France’s chief financial crimes prosecutor said Monday, reports FRANCE 24.
Kohler, who holds one of France's most powerful jobs as secretary-general of the Élysée presidential office, is facing accusations related to his professional and family links to Italian-Swiss shipping company MSC, which is run by his mother's cousins.
The prosecutor's office "confirms Alexis Kohler, currently the secretary-general of the French presidency, has been put under formal investigation for unlawful taking of interest", the prosecutor's office said in a statement.
Kohler on Monday "categorically denied any wrongdoing", his lawyer said in a statement, while an official in Macron's office said the presidential chief of staff remains in his post.
In 2018, Anticor, an anti-corruption NGO, filed a legal complaint against Kohler for illegal influence-peddling concerning contracts awarded to MSC in 2010 and 2011.
MSC was founded by billionaire cousins of Kohler's mother and Kohler himself joined the company as finance director in 2016 while continuing to work as an adviser on Macron's presidential campaign.
Kohler, whose office at the Élysée Palace is located next to that of the president, is often described as Macron's right-hand man.
His job involves handling emergencies, major economic and social issues as well as some political decisions.
His lawyer, Éric Dezeuze, said the discovery of evidence linked to the charges would allow Kohler "to prove his innocence".
But Anticor lawyer Jean-Baptiste Soufron said "the question of his resignation is now on the table".
Macron's office has previously said that Kohler had at no time hidden his family ties to the Aponte family that owns MSC.
The company, which runs cruise ships, is one of the biggest clients of French shipyard Chantiers de l'Atlantique, the maker of the Queen Mary 2, which the French government has tried to restructure several times in past decades.