Criminal investigators have raided the Paris offices of French President Emmanuel Macron and US consulting firm McKinsey & Company, Le Parisien reported on Wednesday. Authorities suspect that McKinsey illegally funded Macron’s 2017 and 2022 campaigns.

The raids, which targeted the headquarters of Macron’s Renaissance party, its funding association, and Mckinsey’s French headquarters, took place on Tuesday morning, the newspaper wrote. 

Renaissance officials confirmed that a search had taken place at the party’s headquarters, but said that it focused solely “on the campaign side” of the office. McKinsey also confirmed that its premises had been searched, adding that it would “cooperate fully with the public authorities.”

The probe into the Macron/Kinsey connection was announced by France’s National Financial Prosecutor’s office late last month. While the prosecutor’s office did not reveal further details of the investigation, it said that the probe was connected to media reports suggesting McKinsey was underbilled for work on Maron’s 2017 and 2022 presidential campaigns, and in turn received lucrative state contracts once Macron was in office.

A report by French senators published in March found that under Macron, the French government and civil service signed contracts worth at least €2.4 billion ($2.55 billion) with consultancy firms since 2018, more than double the expenditure of previous administrations. 

McKinsey’s offices were also raided by customs officials in May, as part of an investigation into alleged tax fraud.

Campaign funding in France is strictly controlled and funding of presidential bids by private companies is illegal. Individual contributions are also heavily regulated.

Macron insists that he did not violate any rules, and stated last month that he has “nothing to fear” from the investigation. 

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https://www.rt.com/news/568246-macron-party-office-raided/

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