The president of French Polynesia, Gaston Flosse, has been charged with abuse of public funds.
The charges relate to the town of Pirae paying for the water supply to the Erima neighbourhood, where he and other top politicians live.
This comes just a day after his son-in-law and territorial assembly president, Edouard Fritch, was charged over the same issue.
In a statement, Mr Flosse says there has been no hint of any wrongdoing as the water supply was connected with neighbouring Arue that served the French nuclear weapons testing programme.
He says furthermore the alleged infractions predate 2001 and are therefore prescribed.
The statement says it is mysterious that the media is summoned at the same time as the president and the matter is raised just weeks before the municipal election.
It describes the local newspaper, which reported about Mr Fritch's case, as the newsletter of the prosecutor's office.
