20th March, 2018
Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy has been placed under arrest in the judicial police headquarters in the French commune of Nanterre, where he will be testifying in an affair over allegedly illegally financing of his presidential campaign in 2007.
Local media reported on Tuesday that Sarkozy will be questioned over allegedly receiving funds from Libya’s late leader Muammar Gaddafi, the BFMTV broadcaster reported, citing a source close to the investigation.
According to French media, the former president, who has not testified on this case before, could spend up to 48 hours in custody.
In December 2017, French-Lebanese businessman Ziad Takieddine was questioned over corruption allegations and on suspicion of misusing Libya’s state funds.
Takieddine claimed in 2016 that he had brought five million euros (6.1 million dollars) in cash from Libya to France in late 2006 and early 2007, and the money was then transferred to Sarkozy via an intermediary.
The notes of former Shukri Ghanem, who was Libya’s minister of oil from 2006 to 2011, reportedly suggest that Sarkozy received money transfers from Libya.
Sarkozy, who was French president in 2007-2012, denied all allegations against him when French news outlet Mediapart first reported on the links between his presidential campaign and Gaddafi in 2012.