Police raided France's economy ministry Wednesday as part of a conflict of interest probe into President Emmanuel Macron's chief of staff Alexis Kohler, a source close to the case said, reports FRANCE 24.
The search operations in several offices were carried out by officers from the BRDE economic crimes unit, the source said.
Kohler previously worked in the ministry as a senior civil servant, including as cabinet director to Macron during his time as economy minister between 2014 and 2016.
Anti-corruption prosecutors on Monday said they had opened an investigation into 45-year-old Kohler over his links to the Swiss-Italian shipping giant MSC.
The probe is focusing on whether Kohler had a conflict of interest during his time at the economy ministry due to his relationship with MSC, the biggest client of major French shipyard STX France.
Kohler worked closely with the company in several senior ministry roles despite his family link to its client MSC, which was founded by billionaire cousins of his mother.
Kohler left the ministry in 2016 to join MSC as finance director, while continuing to work as an advisor on Macron's presidential campaign in his spare time.