The founder of the French breast implant company PIP is now out of custody pending trial.
Jean-Claude Mas, 73, was released on Monday. He has spent eight months in detention after his company's breast implants were revealed to be prone to rupturing.
He is due to go on trial in April next year. The case is expected to involve 180 lawyers and 4600 complainants. Meanwhile, his passport has been confiscated.
PIP was closed in 2010 after it was found to have been using industrial-grade silicone gel.
The French government in January advised some 30,000 women to have their PIP implants removed after a spate of ruptures.
The BBC reports then emerged that 40,000 women in Britain and up to half a million more worldwide have been using the company's breast implants.
Studies showed that the sub-standard silicone used posed no serious long-term threats to health, but PIP products were up to twice as likely to burst as other implants.