French Ikea executives questioned over police-file spying scandal
Furniture giant accused of paying for secret police files to snoop on customers and staff
Two executives at Ikea France were being questioned by police as part of a probe into allegations the company illegally used police files to spy on staff and customers, a judicial source said.
Stefan Vanoverbeke, Ikea France's chief executive and its finance chief, Dariusz Rychert, were formally detained for questioning by police in Versailles on Monday, the source said yesterday.
Former CEO Jean-Louis Baillot was also being questioned, a police source said separately. French prosecutors launched a criminal probe in April last year following allegations that Ikea paid for illegal access to secret police files to gain information about employees and clients.
Keen to repair its reputation, Ikea France subsequently fired four employees, launched an internal inquiry and established a code of conduct to avoid a repeat of the scandal.
The questioning follows police seizures at the company's headquarters in the Paris suburbs this month.
Several people have been charged in connection with the case, including Ikea France's former risk management head Jean-Francois Paris.