French minister faces formal tax fraud probe

PARIS (Reuters) - French prosecutors opened a formal tax fraud investigation on Tuesday into allegations that Budget Minister Jerome Cahuzac held a secret bank account in Switzerland.

Cahuzac, who is leading a government crackdown on tax evasion, has repeatedly denied a report in December by French investigative news website Mediapart that he held an undisclosed account at the Swiss bank UBS until the start of 2010.