Investigators and politicians pressure France’s energy minister over investment project deal

The announcements follow a Investigate Europe and disclose the investigation revealing how Pannier-Runacher helped launch a million dollar investment company to benefit his children.

The company was set up in 2016 by his father, a former Perenco Oil executive, with €1.2million in shares invested in three hedge funds – two based in the tax havens of Guernsey and Ireland. Named after the politician’s children, Arjunem was conceived by Jean-Michel Runacher as an early inheritance plan for his grandchildren.

The three children of Pannier-Runacher, a close ally of President Emmanuel Macron, are shareholders, as well as a fourth grandchild of his father. As legal representative, the minister is a signatory for her three minor children in Arjunem’s incorporation documents.

Pannier-Runacher, who has denied any wrongdoing, was not required to disclose her involvement under French law. However, transparency campaigners said its failure to do so could constitute a “conflict of interest” regarding Perenco.

Jean-Michel Runacher spent decades at Perenco, which calls itself “Europe’s leading independent oil and gas company”, and only backed out of the business in 2020. The investigation found that Perenco itself previously held shares in the same three hedge funds used by Runacher to launch Arjunem. There is no evidence that the 1.2 million euros invested in Arjunem are directly linked in any way to Perenco.

Political backlash

But just hours after the story was published, the High Authority for the Transparency of Public Life (HATVP), a watchdog body for ministerial interests and possible risks of conflicts of interest, announced that it had opened an investigation into the Minister’s involvement.

In a speech to the French parliament on Tuesday, Pannier-Runacher said the story was “false and slanderous”, but confirmed the essential facts of the investigation. She clarified that the donation of shares had been made “through a French company subject to French tax” and that she had not benefited from these funds, nor could she more do so in the future. She did not comment on the links with tax havens or the nature of the investments.

“I also want to clarify that my children have not received any funds from this company since its creation,” she said, adding that in her ministerial functions she had no “knowledge of the activities” of Perenco.

“My father, my mother and my children did not choose a public activity,” she added. “I have it, and I exercise it in complete transparency, both on my assets and on my interests, in compliance with the law. Regarding my family, and this is not the first time, you will understand that it is my duty to protect them.

His arguments did not convince the opposition. Clémence Guette, MP for La France Insoumise, questioned the relevance of “a minister whose indirect financial interests are visibly linked to oil companies” to accelerate the transition to renewable energies. Danielle Simonnet, party colleague, wrote on Twitter: “Minister of Energy Transition or oil interests, you have to choose!”

Opposition MP Danièle Obono was even more scathing in her Twitter account: “The minister in charge of a renewable energy bill has indirect interests in an oil company via financial arrangements in tax havens . Why isn’t it on repeat on the news channels? Why is she still a minister?

Greenpeace calls for resignation

Pannier-Runacher is due to attend COP27 in Egypt this week but following the revelations, Greenpeace France said she was “not legitimate to represent France” at the conference.

“This revelation demonstrates that the government is missing the mark: either it does not realize the conflict of interest, or it minimizes it. In both cases, the situation is serious and requires an immediate reaction,” said general manager Jean-François Julliard.

“Not only is the Minister not up to the challenges of the energy transition, but it is now becoming impossible to consider her as a credible interlocutor on the stated objective of phasing out fossil fuels. Under these conditions, Agnès Pannier-Runacher must resign.