France: Former Premier Is Questioned in Fraud Case
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Version 0 of 1. Gendarmes questioned the former prime minister Dominique de Villepin on Tuesday on suspicion of involvement in fraud that investigators believe was committed by a friend, the businessman Régis Bulot. It was unclear whether charges might be brought against Mr. de Villepin, who was released after several hours of questioning, a police spokesman said. Investigators believe that Mr. Bulot, the former president of Relais et Châteaux, a luxury hotel and restaurant network, embezzled more than $2 billion from the company. In a recorded telephone conversation from 2010, Mr. de Villepin, who was no longer in government, appears to tell Mr. Bulot that he pressured managers at the company to keep the fraud a secret, according to French news media reports. Mr. Bulot’s lawyer told the newsmagazine Le Nouvel Observateur that his client had embezzled about $640,000, but that Mr. de Villepin had been unaware of it. |