PARIS - French judicial investigators have opened a full-scale inquiry into allegations of complicity in the 1994 Rwandan genocide, an official at the public prosecutor's office said on Monday.
BNP Paribas bank, accused by non-governmental organisations of complicity over a transfer of $1.3 million to an arms dealer, said the move was expected and not a surprise.
"This in no way constitutes a new development," a BNP spokeswoman said.
The full-scale inquiry follows a preliminary investigation that began earlier this year, when three non-government organisations filed a complaint on the matter.
In France, the opening of a full-scale inquiry does not imply guilt and does not automatically lead to a trial. It does imply that investigators believe the complaint or information gleaned during initial inquiries merits further investigation.
(Reporting by Emmanuel Jarry; Writing by Brian Love) ((brian.love@thomsonreuters.com; +33 1 4949 5363;))
BNP Paribas bank, accused by non-governmental organisations of complicity over a transfer of $1.3 million to an arms dealer, said the move was expected and not a surprise.
"This in no way constitutes a new development," a BNP spokeswoman said.
The full-scale inquiry follows a preliminary investigation that began earlier this year, when three non-government organisations filed a complaint on the matter.
In France, the opening of a full-scale inquiry does not imply guilt and does not automatically lead to a trial. It does imply that investigators believe the complaint or information gleaned during initial inquiries merits further investigation.
(Reporting by Emmanuel Jarry; Writing by Brian Love) ((brian.love@thomsonreuters.com; +33 1 4949 5363;))
