Boss of French breast implant company released on bail

Jan 27, 2012, 9:04 GMT

Paris - The French manufacturer of the suspect breast implants that have been recalled in several countries was released on bail of 100,000 euros (130,000 dollars) late Thursday, France Info radio reported.

Jean-Claude Mas, the 72-year-old founder of Poly Implant Prothese (PIP), was arrested at his home in Six-Fours-les-Plages on the Cote d'Azur early Thursday. Police carried out a search of his luxury villa.

On Thursday evening, he was brought before a judge in city of Marseille, who granted him bail.

His lawyer, Yves Haddad, told reporters on Friday that his client was formally under investigation for causing 'involuntary harm' to women who received the implants. He has yet to be formally charged.

PIP implants are at the centre of an international health scare.

Health authorities in France, which has around 30,000 PIP users, say they present unacceptably high rates of rupture and that the leaked gel can cause inflammation.

In 2010, the company was discovered to have been using an industrial-grade silicone in the implants to make them cheaper. The implants were banned and PIP was placed under liquidation.

Mas, who is also being investigated for fraud, has admitted to using a non-graded gel but denies the gel was dangerous.

Around 400,000 PIP implants were sold worldwide, mainly in Western Europe and Latin America.

Since December, France, Germany, the Netherlands, the Czech Republic and Venezuela advised women with the implants to have them removed as a preventive measure.

A lawyer representing an association of PIP wearers welcomed Mas' arrest.

'It's come late, but at least it's happened,' Philippe Courtois said.