Le Pen Must Repay Eu Parliament €300,000: High Court

French far-right leader Marine Le Pen must comply with a European Parliament order to pay back nearly €300,000 ($347,500) after being accused of misusing funds earmarked for aides' salaries as a MEP, the EU General Court said in a ruling on Tuesday.



The EU Court, based in Luxembourg, dismissed the request by the head of the National Rally (RN, formerly known as the National Front) to overturn a decision taken by the European Parliament in 2016.



"By today's judgment, the Court dismisses Ms. Le Pen's action and confirms the Parliament's recovery decision," the EU's second-highest court said in a statement.



Le Pen, who served as MEP in 2009-2017, was accused by the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) of "unduly" paying nearly €298,500 to Catherine Griset for parliamentary assistance from December 2010 to February 2016.



Tuesday's decision follows a string of similar orders against a number of National Rally MEPs found to have used parliamentary funds to pay assistants to carry out non-parliamentary work.



Last month the court ordered MEP Mylene Troszczynski, also from the RN, to repay €56,554 to Parliament, and this March Le Pen's father and former FN leader Jean-Marie Le Pen was ordered to reimburse the EP over €300,000.



The far-right leader can still appeal the decision to the the EU's top court, the EU Court of Justice, on points of law. -