15 March 2017•Update: 15 March 2017
PARIS
Conservative French presidential candidate Francois Fillon was placed under formal investigation Tuesday over an alleged misuse of public funds.
The center-right candidate is accused of using public funds to employ his wife and two children for fake tasks.
The former prime minister had said he would quit the race if a formal investigation against him was opened. He has denied any wrongdoing and has said he will cooperate with the judiciary.
The allegations, dating back to January, were made by the investigative weekly Le Canard Enchaine.
The weekly claimed, citing pay slips, that Fillon had paid about €1 million ($1.08 million) out of public funds to his wife and two children as parliamentary assistant and legal consultants, respectively.
Although it is legal for French lawmakers to hire family members as parliamentary assistants, Le Canard Enchaine cast doubts over whether his wife Penelope actually performed aide duties.
A primary investigation was launched after the first report came out on Jan. 25. It was later widened to include two of the Fillons' five children, Marie and Charles.
Centrist candidate Emmanuel Macron is also linked to a preliminary investigation, opened by prosecutors on Tuesday, into suspected favoritism surrounding a 2016 event in Las Vegas when jhe was economy minister.
However, the investigation has not specifically targeted Macron yet.
*Reporting Rahmi Gunduz and Onur Usta; Writing by Ahmet Sait Akcay
