On franceinfo, Laurent Dublet, member of the office of the association which fights against corruption and campaigns for transparency in politics, denounces a “political elite which will hide links of financial interests in total contradiction with the public policies it displays. “.
investigative media Disclose reveals this Tuesday in an investigation that the children of the Minister of Energy Transition, Agnès Pannier-Runacher, are associated with an oil company named Arjunem itself linked to tax havens via the company Perenco.
>> Minister Agnès Pannier-Runacher involved in “a possible conflict of interest”, according to Disclose
“As a preventive measure, Mrs. Pannier-Runacher should have informed the High Authority for the transparency of public life of the interests that her children had in this company Arjunem“, said this Tuesday on franceinfo Laurent Dublet, member of the board of Anticor, an association which fights against corruption and campaigns for transparency in politics. The minister assures that she was not obliged to declare the interests of her children. Laurent Dublet denounced on franceinfo a “political elite who will hide links of financial interests in total contradiction with the public policies they display“. According to him, “discredit is thrown on our democracy”.
franceinfo: Should Agnès Pannier-Runacher have informed the High Authority?
Laurent Dublet: Preventively, yes. Mrs. Pannier-Runacher should have reported to the High Authority for the Transparency of Public Life (HATVP) the interests that her children had in this Arjunem company. Especially since at the time of the creation of the company, its children were minors. She therefore had the legal administration of the property of these children and the law says that the parents who have the legal administration of the property of their children receive the income of their children. So, as a preventive measure and to avoid precisely this type of problem, she should have declared her indirect holdings in this company via her children.
In this case, is there a conflict of interest?
For the moment, we cannot say that there really is a conflict of interest since we have no elements that allow us to say that she would have favored the interests of the Perenco company. Where we can consider that there is a conflict of interest is that Mrs. Agnès Pannier-Runacher is all the same Minister of Energy Transition, whom she declares that she wants to put an end to the carbon industry. It is perceived that the main company which would have financed the Arjunem company, of which his children are partners, is the Perenco company, which holds numerous stakes in oil groups. For us, there is a contradiction. We realize that we are faced with a political elite that will hide links of financial interests in total contradiction with the public policies that it displays and the speeches that it displays. This type of behavior is absolutely incredible damage to our democratic system. We have men and women politicians who speak out in public and their actions do not go in that direction. It is the discredit that is thrown on our democracy.
What should be done in the case of the minister?
We are not in a situation of illegal taking of interests. Obviously, no crimes were committed, but there is a conflict of interest. You can have a conflict of interest without being in a tort situation. Transparency needs to be enhanced. Precisely this case could be an opportunity to strengthen the requirements of transparency in terms of assets and declarations of interest.
Are you in the field of morality, not that of law?
Yes. Above all, we are in a demand for transparency that Anticor has had for years. We have a minister in charge of energy transition who promotes a carbon-free economy and we realize that indirectly, she would have participated in the creation of a company which is financed by oil groups and via investment funds which are located in tax havens.
Are you going to take legal action?
We have a board of directors and an office that will meet and decide on the various elements that are brought to our attention.