France has informed Putrajaya that its judicial system was pursuing graft investigations involving Malaysia's procurement of submarines in 2002.

According to Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng, this was conveyed by French ambassador Frédéric Laplanche when the two met today.

"(Laplanche) disclosed the good news that the French judicial system is pursuing the €1 billion Scorpene submarine corruption scandal.

"(This does not include the) Altantuya (Shaariibuu) murder which does not involve the French authorities and jurisdiction," said Lim on his Facebook page.

He said the ambassador had expressed full support for the new Malaysian government's promotion of transparency and commitment to exposing past financial scandals.

In addition, he said discussions today also involved common areas of interest to strengthen bilateral ties.

In 2002, Malaysia had acquired two Scorpène-class submarines from French defence companies. At the time, the Malaysian defence minister was Najib Abdul Razak.

Following this, French prosecutors launched investigations on allegations that its nationals had received kickbacks from the deal.

So far, investigations are aimed at DCNI dockyards unit former chairperson Philippe Japiot and French defence and electronics giant Thales' former chief executive Jean-Paul Perrier.

Another person of interest to French investigators is Malaysian national Abdul Razak Baginda, long believed to be among Najib's close associates, who admitted to being paid €30mil for consultation on the Scorpene submarine deal.

French investigators are also probing allegations that €114 million was paid to Perimekar Sdn Bhd, which was reportedly controlled by Abdul Razak's wife.