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A French judge removed from a post in Monaco has denounced “obstacles” impeding his corruption investigation into a Russian billionaire, in comments to a French magazine this week.
The case had already led to several top officials in Monaco losing their jobs.
The judge, Edouard Levrault, had been leading the inquiry into a bribery and influence-peddling scandal centred on Russian tycoon Dmitry Rybolovlev.
He was working in the principality under a longstanding agreement with France.
But earlier this year, Monaco’s justice minister unexpectedly turned down Levrault’s request for a renewal of his three-year term despite the ongoing investigation.
“The Monaco authorities gave no justification for their decision, something that should not be tolerated under the rule of law,” Levrault told the latest edition of France’s L’Obs news weekly, which appears Thursday.
“I had to accept the fact that in a delicate case I would face obstacles,” he added.
Levrault cited tense relations with the investigators in the Monaco police, some of whose members have been caught up in the scandal.
The corruption case emerged after Rybolovlev, who owns AS Monaco football club, was detained for questioning in November 2018.
He had been locked in a long-running legal battle with an art dealer, and police suspected he had tried to garner support for his cause among Monaco officials.
Rybolovlev was eventually charged with influence peddling and bribery.
Former justice chief Philippe Narmino was forced to retire in 2017 over corruption allegations stemming from the case, and was later charged with influence peddling and accepting bribes.
The head of Monaco’s criminal investigation division, Christophe Haget, has also been charged with influence peddling, as well as his deputy and a retired police chief.
Levrault has since been appointed vice president at the courthouse in Nice, southern France.
In Monaco, a new justice minister replaced the one who refused to renew Levrault’s term on Monday.
Announcing that appointment last month, the office of Monaco’s Prince Albert II said the decision “reaffirmed his commitment to an independent and impartial justice system”.