Greenpeace and other activist groups filed a complaint Thursday with the Paris prosecutor’s office against the CEO of energy giant Total, alleging illegal taking of interests.

Total CEO Patrick Pouyanné was appointed to the board of the prestigious science and technology university École Polytechnique in 2018. Greenpeace France, the anti-corruption organization Anticor and La Sphinx, which represents students and alumni of the university, accuse Pouyanné of using his position on the board to influence the decision of the university to establish a research and innovation center for the company as part of the campus.

The groups allege that the research center will house several hundred Total employees, and that Pouyanné used his position on the board to advance the project, a conflict of interest that was left unaddressed. Meanwhile, for more than a year students, faculty, and alumni of the university have protested against the proposed center, which was given final approval in June of last year. Matthew Lequesne, of the La Sphinx group, said, “The complaint is intended to shed light on the possible diversion of a public institution’s interests to serve private interests.”

A statement from Total claims that Pouyanné never took part in any decisions by the university board regarding the company, and that he always recused himself whenever it came up in discussion.