Carlos Ghosn case: Rashida Dati will again ask the court to drop the charges

A new legal step in a three-year-old case. Culture Minister Rachida Dati will this Tuesday once again ask the Paris Court of Appeal to discontinue proceedings against her from 2021 on contracts awarded to a subsidiary of Renault-Nissan when Carlos Ghosn was CEO.

The investigative chamber of the Paris Court of Appeal is considering two requests from Rachida Dati, a judicial source said. One is to note the statute of limitations on the alleged facts, the other is to give Rashida Dati more favorable status as an assisted witness, this source said.

Statute of limitations

The minister’s lawyers, Olivier Baratelli and Olivier Pardot, told AFP that only the statute of limitations of the facts would be considered. “Everything is prescribed, strictly prescribed for years,” they believe.

Both councils emphasize “the discovery of new fundamental elements, indicating that more than forty managers of Renault, Nissan and the Renault-Nissan Alliance (represented by the Dutch subsidiary RNBV), were clearly informed about Rashida Dati’s mission as a lawyer, her reality, her services and the amount of her fees.

Thus, the statute of limitations – at that time three years – would begin from the signing of the agreement between RNBV and Rachida Dati in 2009, and not in 2019 on the complaint of the Renault shareholder. “Moreover, those responsible for the European Parliament have consistently stated that they have never been asked to intervene in any way in the interests of the alliance, much less Renault,” add Messrs Pardo and Baratelli.

Lawyers have already appealed to the investigative chamber with a request to recognize the facts as expired, but in vain. The former justice minister and former mayor of the 7th arrondissement of Paris has been charged since July 2021 with “corruption and passive influence peddling by a person with a public elected mandate.”

Applications are expected soon

Suspicions relate to 900 thousand euros that RNBV paid her between 2010 and 2012, when she was a lawyer and member of the European Parliament (2009-2019). The investigation sought to determine whether the fee agreement could have been used to disguise lobbying activities in the European Parliament, which are prohibited for any elected official.

Carlos Ghosn has been the subject of an international arrest warrant in this case since April 2022: the former big boss failed to appear on summons for possible corruption charges in May 2022.

Rashida Dati, like Carlos Ghosn, does not agree with any violations. The investigation, which began in July 2019, will end in September 2023. The National Financial Prosecutor’s Office (PNF) is due to accept its requests soon, after which the investigating judge will or will not schedule the case to be tried in the Paris criminal court.