Dati is suspected of corruption and abuse of power during her time as an EU parliamentarian, reports a source within the French judicial system to the news agency AFP.
The suspicions against the 59-year-old, who has her sights set on the mayoral election in Paris next year, were raised as early as 2019 and concern the fact that she is alleged to have lobbied for the Renault-Nissan group.
She is accused, despite her denial, of having received the equivalent of just over 10 million kronor in legal fees from a Dutch subsidiary of the corporate group between 2010 and 2012, without having worked for them.
Also being prosecuted in the case is the former Renault and Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn, who has been evading justice in Lebanon since 2019. He fled there from Japan where he was placed under house arrest suspected of serious financial crime.
Ghosn managed to escape the country via Osaka airport by being smuggled out in a box intended for musical instruments.
The date for the trial in Paris is to be determined at a hearing on September 29. Ghosn also denies the crime.
