French prosecutors have launched an investigation into Czech billionaire and former Prime Minister Andrej Babiš on suspicion of money laundering related to his purchase of villas in southern France.

France's national financial prosecutor's office launched legal proceedings in February 2022, after Babiš was mentioned in Pandora documents. According to the documents, the former Czech leader failed to uncover a number of shell companies that were used to buy French property.

Babiš denied doing anything wrong or illegal and said the revelations were aimed at his re-election campaign, which later failed.

French investigators have now focused on how Babiš acquired his €14 million property, which was purchased through a Monaco-based company owned by an offshore company in the US.

The whole scheme was allegedly hidden from the French authorities and could be a money laundering and tax evasion scheme, according to Le Monde.

Babiš, the fifth richest man in the Czech Republic, is also accused of receiving 2 million euros from European funds intended for small and medium-sized companies in the country. The billionaire is due to appear in court on September 12 in this case.