US media are reporting Renault allegedly paid EUR250,000 (US$346,000) to a private investigator as the automaker’s alleged espionage case undergoes yet a further twist.
The Wall Street Journal said Renault’s security department paid the money to the investigator to determine if bank accounts existed in Switzerland and Liechtenstein, while French radio station RTL referred to an anonymous informer whose information may or may not have sparked the whole affair.
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Speaking on RTL, Renault lawyer Jean Reinhart made reference to persons unknown asking them to apparently hand over names and contact details to France’s secret service, the DCRI, that has also been involved in the spy case.
Speculation has centred on Renault looking for an informant who may or not have unleashed the whole espionage suspicion in the first place.
“We are going to ask them… to get closer to the DCRI to communicate the surname, Christian name and contact details of this source,” said Reinhart on RTL. “So that there is no ambiguity, Renault wants all the truth – of every angle – we absolutely need to have open doors.
“If Renault has been destabilised, another inquiry should be started to know everything, to understand everything.”
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By GlobalDataThe sensationally complex case shows no sign of running out of steam, with speculation voiced by French sources to just-auto a view could be taken this week by the Paris Prosecutor on how the matter could proceed.
Renault was not immediately available for comment.
