‘French investigative service investigates merger Suez and Veolia’

The French investigative agency Parquet National Finacier (PNF) has launched an investigation into political interference in a mega-merger in the waste world. French media write this on the basis of a judicial source.

At the beginning of this year, the French waste giant Veolia bought its peer Suez for around 13 billion euros. PNF, the service responsible for combating financial crime and corruption, is now investigating the possible influence of that takeover bid.

One of the main suspects in the case is said to be top government official Alexis Kohler. He is secretary-general of the Elysee and therefore has a top official position at the presidential palace. Kohler allegedly lobbied energy company Engie to sell the company’s stock of Suez to Veolia. Engie owned nearly 30 percent of Suez.

Dutch waste processing

Shortly after the takeover, several unions already filed a complaint about this possible interference from government circles. “We can only be happy that the union complaint has been taken seriously by the PNF,” union lawyer Jean-Baptiste Soufron said in a statement. The world.

Before the merger, Suez and Veolia were both active in Dutch waste processing. The Dutch branch of Suez has been sold as part of the merger to the German PreZero, the recycling branch of Lidl owner Schwarz group.

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