The French Public Prosecutor’s Office is studying a report by the European Union’s anti-fraud agency accusing Marine Le Pen of embezzling EU funds. The Public Prosecution confirmed this after it was reported to French media.

Prosecutors received a report from the Anti-fraud Office on March 11. Yesterday, the news site Mediapart reported for the first time about the existence of the report. He will say that during her tenure in the European Parliament, between 2004 and 2017, Le Pen embezzled 140,000 euros of EU funds, and inappropriately spent with party members a total of 617,000 euros.

Le Pen and her party members are accused not of self-enrichment, but of using the money for activities not directly related to Europe, such as paying for their own staff and events. For example, she would have spent 23,000 euros on promotional materials for her own party and over 4,000 euros on wine bottles for a party meeting.

Le Pen denies this

Le Pen says through her lawyer that she knows nothing of some of the facts in the report. Her lawyer says the other activities mentioned in the report were already aimed at her working as a member of the European Parliament.

The head of Le Pen’s National Rally, Jordan Bardella, alleges European interference in the French elections. “The French will not be deceived by the attempts of the European Union to influence the presidential elections and harm Marine Le Pen,” he told Europe 1 radio station.

Le Pen and current President Emmanuel Macron are in a fierce battle for the presidency. At first it seemed like Macron would win the election fairly easily, but voters’ fears about rapidly declining purchasing power led to The first round of elections He also voted a lot for Le Pen. The second and decisive vote will take place on April 24, when a choice must be made between Macron and Le Pen.