The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) will seek clarification with the French embassy with regard to the status of political analyst Abdul Razak Baginda in the Scorpene case, said its chief Dzulkifli Ahmad.

Dzulkifli said this in an interview with TV3's Soal Jawab programme last night in response to reports that Abdul Razak, an associate of Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak, had been indicted in France with alleged graft in the Scorpene case.

"I would like to clarify the legal system in France and in Malaysia are different.

"I have instructed my officers to seek accurate information from the (French) embassy on whether it is at the inquiry or prosecution stage.

"If there is a prosecution, a person has to be arrested, brought to court and charged. That did not appear to have happened," he said.

AFP on Tuesday reported that Abdul Razak had been charged in France.

However, Abdul Razak's office in a statement disputed this, stating that it was still at the investigation stage.

For complex cases, the French legal system is two-tiered where a judge can conduct investigations.

If there is sufficient evidence, the case then goes to trial but under a different judge.

Dzulkifli said if there was legitimate information about the case, the MACC may even send its officers to France to look into the matter.

The French probe into Scorpene commenced in 2010 after Malaysia-based human rights group Suaram lodged a complaint.

The case concerns Malaysia's purchase of two Scorpene-class submarines for around one billion euros from France's Direction des Constructions Navales (DCN), which allegedly involved kickbacks.