Breast implant company founder charged

A French judge has charged the founder of the breast implant company at the heart of a global health scare with causing “involuntary injuries“, prosecutors said.

More than 400,000 women around the world are believed to have received implants made by Poly Implant Prothese (PIP), which shut down in 2010 after it was revealed to have been using substandard, industrial-grade silicone gel.

Its founder Jean-Claude Mas, 72, was detained on Thursday near the southern city of Marseille after a judge launched a criminal investigation over the case.