France's public standards watchdog will look into media reports about assets held by Energy Minister Agnes Pannier-Runacher's children, a spokesperson for the agency said on Tuesday.
Online investigative media Disclose and Investigate Europe reported on Tuesday that Pannier-Runacher's father had made her three children shareholders of a company with assets of 1.2 million euros ($1.2 million) with the aim of avoiding inheritance tax.
The websites also reported that Pannier-Runacher had not declared the existence of this company to the watchdog, the High Authority for Transparency in Public Life (HATVP), when she was appointed a minister. Pannier-Runacher has denied all allegations of misconduct.
While she was not legally required to do so under current legislation, the sites quote campaigners who argue that the company's links with the oil industry created a conflict of interest, since Pannier-Runacher, as energy minister, is tasked with reducing France's reliance on fossil fuels.
An HATVP spokesperson told Reuters the authority would look into the matter and would exchange with the minister. He also said that under current legislation, assets held by a minister's children do not need to be declared when taking office.
Asked about the report in parliament on Tuesday, Pannier-Runacher said the allegations were wrong and had no link to her ministerial function.
She said that in 2016, her father wanted to prepare his succession via direct transmission to his grandchildren, and that this was set up via a French company, paying French taxes and in respect of all French legislation.
"Nothing was hidden," she said, adding that she has no rights to the assets of the company.
She added that she had complied with HATVP rules, which do not require that assets held by a minister's children should be declared.
"My children have not received any money from this company since its creation," she told lawmakers.
Pannier-Runacher also denied all links with her father's former employer, Anglo-French oil company Perenco.
"I have no links with Perenco, my father's former employer. It is a foreign company, whose oil business operate outside France," she said.
($1 = 0.9928 euros)
(Reporting by GV De Clercq; Editing by Josie Kao)
