Oil corruption case in France gets bigger

Gigantic sleaze scandal winds up as former Elf oil chiefs are jailed

The Guardian -Thursday November 13, 2003

France's mammoth Elf corruption case, probably the biggest political and corporate sleaze scandal to hit a western democracy since the second world war, drew to a close yesterday as three key former executives of the oil giant were jailed for up to five years.

...The three were among 37 defendants on trial for illegally siphoning off an extraordinary €350m of the then state-owned company's funds, from 1989 to 1993, while Le Floch was chairman. The never-ending stream of cash was used to buy political favours at home and abroad, and to fund some extravagant lifestyles.

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