Jérôme Cahuzac, who resigned as budget minister last month over tax fraud allegations, had denied “ever” possessing a foreign bank account before parliament, describing such allegations as “crazy” and “slanderous”
François Hollande’s former tax tsar begged for “forgiveness” after admitting to having an undeclared Swiss bank account for the past 20 years, as he was placed under formal investigation for tax fraud.
Jérôme Cahuzac, who resigned as budget minister last month over tax fraud allegations, had denied “ever” possessing a foreign bank account before parliament, describing such allegations as “crazy” and “slanderous”.
But the Socialist government’s former “Monsieur Propre” (Mr Clean) on Tuesday admitted to having a “bank account abroad” for the past two decades.
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“I met the two judges (leading the case) today. I confirmed the existence of this account and informed them that I had already given the necessary orders so that the funds on this account – around 600,000 euros (£509,000) – be repatriated to my account in Paris,” Mr Cahuzac said in a statement.
He asked for “forgiveness for the damage I have caused” the President and the government and offered his “sincere and deepest apologies” to the French.
The scandal has plunged the government into crisis. Seen as a pillar of the cabinet before his resignation, Mr Cahuzac, 60, was responsible for making drastic government spending cuts and leading the fight against tax evasion.
Read the full story at telegraph.co.uk
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