[BlueTemplar]

No question that this is a threat, but at this point I also feel compelled to point out that the US(&UK) judiciary has been accused of the same :

1.) https://www.economist.com/business/2019/01/17/how-the-americ...

(Notably, some of the most vocal opponents of Macron go as far as to accuse him of treason for personal gain in this case, though their case is IMHO kind of thin.)

2.) https://www.bbc.com/news/business-51277946

Tom Enders, his compliance officer John Harrison, DARPA's & silicon valley's Paul Eremenko and others have been accused of (ab)using this probe with the result that Airbus' strategic information (including business one) became openly accessible to the USA, and through them, to their competitor : Boeing.

3.) Not to be forgotten : https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-32542140

[ryanackley]

I'm not seeing the similarities to what the parent comment describes.

The people accused of participating of wrongdoing in these articles weren't pressured to participate by threats to their families from their "home" government. They did it for personal gain.