Translated material
Prolonged interrogation
French justice has been talking with the head of Total for the second day
The chief of the oil company Total, Christophe de Margerie, has been under arrest in the French Palace of Justice for almost two days. Two of his subordinates were released on Wednesday evening. Today, the 48-hour detention period expires, as a result, Mr. de Margerie will either be released or become a suspect in the case of paying bribes to Iranian officials. News agency sources in the Palace of Justice suggest that the second scenario is no less likely than the first.Total is suspected of bribery when receiving a contract in 1997 to develop two stages of the South Pars gas field, 100 km from the Persian Gulf . Mr de Margerie was then head of Total's Middle East division. In October, the current head of the company was already arrested for questioning in another case - about bribes in the purchase of oil bypassing the Iraqi oil-for-food program, but then Mr. de Margerie was released six hours later.
French media reported that Mr. de Margerie was summoned to the police station on Tuesday, and yesterday, according to a Reuters photographer, he was taken in a secret car to the Palais de Justice to see Judge Philippe Currois. Palace sources say the judge also questioned Mr de Margerie, but the oil company chief was not released after questioning.
Total yesterday did not comment on the protracted interrogation of the head of the company; they only appealed to a previously issued statement that the company does not violate the law in all countries where it operates.
Vremya Novostei sources close to Total reported that due to such a lengthy interrogation of the head of the company, it appears that Mr. de Margerie’s visit to Moscow, which was planned for early next week, will be cancelled. The head of Total planned to attend a concert dedicated to the 80th anniversary of Mstislav Rostropovich in the Great Hall of the Conservatory. However, the oil company has not yet officially confirmed the cancellation of the visit.