Thomas Fabius, son of French foreign minister Laurent Fabius, has been charged* with forgery in connection with his passion for gambling, judicial sources said Saturday, reports Yahoo! News.
He was also named as a "témoin assisté" -- an intermediary status between that of a witness and someone who has been charged -- in connection with fraud, tax laundering, breach of trust and misuse of corporate assets, with the information confirmed by a source close to the case.
The 34-year-old son of France's top diplomat has run into a raft of legal problems over his passion for gambling, with an investigation into his financial affairs opened in late 2011 following a complaint by French bank Société Générale.
The bank accused him of writing a forged email while in Morocco, allegedly from his bank adviser, which allowed a Moroccan casino to believe he was about to receive 200,000 euros, a source close to the investigation said.
Investigators have also been looking into his 2012 acquisition of a 300-square-metre (3,200-square-foot) apartment on Boulevard Saint-Germain, a chic neighbourhood in the heart of Paris, for seven million euros ($7.6 million at today's exchange rate).
But Thomas Fabius has always insisted the property was legally purchased, partly through his winnings and partly by means of a bank loan.
Read more of this AFP report published by Yahoo! News.
* Editor's note: Under a change to the French legal system introduced in 1993, a magistrate can decide a suspect should be 'placed under investigation' (mise en examen), which is a status one step short of being charged (inculpé), if there is 'serious or concordant' evidence that they committed a crime. Some English-language media describe this status, peculiar to French criminal law, as that of being charged. In fact, it is only at the end of an investigation that a decision can be made to bring charges, in which case the accused is automatically sent for trial.