The scandal-hit campaign of French presidential candidate François Fillon has been hit by new allegations in the media, reports BBC News.
Mr Fillon's spokesman, Thierry Solère, is being investigated for alleged tax evasion, reported Le Canard Enchaîné.
Mr Solère denied any wrongdoing and has announced his intention to sue the satirical newspaper for libel.
But it is another distraction for Mr Fillon as he clings to the centre-right candidacy nine weeks before elections.
Mr Fillon and his family are the subject of a preliminary investigation into claims, which also originated in Le Canard Enchaîné, that his wife and two of his children were paid hundreds of thousands of euros for non-existent parliamentary work.
Before the claims surfaced, Mr Fillon was the favourite to win the presidency, but polls now show him running third behind the Front National's Marine Le Pen and independent centrist Emmanuel Macron.
On Tuesday, Mr Fillon once again faced down demands to stand aside in favour of another candidate - this time from 20 lawmakers within his own Republicans Party.
Le Canard Enchaîné reported that Mr Solère was the target of a preliminary tax fraud investigation by the public prosecutor in the Paris suburb of Nanterre.
The prosecutor confirmed the preliminary investigation but would not comment further.
Among other claims are questions about whether Mr Solère failed to pay a portion of his income taxes from 2010 to 2013.
But later on BFMTV, Mr Solère denied any fraud allegations and said he would sue the weekly for libel for "recycling" old claims which had been dealt with. He said he had "always declared my income" and was currently "up to date with my taxes".