PARIS, July 16 (Reuters) - A public prosecutor extended the custody of four men close to France's richest woman for 24 hours to enable further questioning about suspected tax evasion and money laundering, a justice spokeswoman said on Friday.
Francois-Marie Banier, a close friend of L’Oreal ‘OREP.PA’ heiress Liliane Bettencourt, Patrice de Maistre, her wealth manager, Fabrice Goguel, her tax lawyer, and Carlos Vejarano, the manager of a property in the Seychelles islands, were being questioned at the headquarters of the financial crimes division.
The affair has embarrassed President Nicolas Sarkozy’s government because of allegations by Bettencourt’s former bookkeeper that the billionairess and her late husband made numerous illegal cash donations to conservative politicians.
