French police searched the office of former Interior Minister Claude Gueant on Wednesday, as part of the investigation into whether former President Nicolas Sarkozy accepted a campaign contribution from deposed Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi.
French police searched the office of former Interior Minister
Claude Gueant on Wednesday, as part of the investigation into
whether former President Nicolas Sarkozy accepted a campaign
contribution from Muammar Gaddafi, French Le Monde
reported.
It comes after Mediapart news agency last year accused Sarkozy
of accepting 50 million euros from the former Libyan leader, to
fund his 2007 campaign. The agency published a statement signed by
former Libyan Foreign secretary Moussa Koussa, which allegedly
proved the allegations were true.
Sarkozy accused the organization of slander, calling the claims
“grotesque.” He filed a libel claim with police shortly
thereafter.
But it’s not only French media which claims Sarkozy had generous backing from the late Libyan leader.
Last month, French-Lebanese businessman Ziad Takieddine claimed
he had proof of the funding. He told a French judge that Sarkozy
received the money from 2006, stating that Sarkozy’s 2007 campaign
was “abundantly” funded by Gaddafi. He said the flow of money
continued after he became president.
Takieddine, who is a fixer for legal and allegedly illegal dealings between France and the Middle East, said he was willing to provide proof of his claims during an investigation.
Gaddafi’s son Saif al-Islam has made similar claims. “Sarkozy
must give back the money he took from Libya to finance his
electoral campaign. We funded it and we have all the details and
are ready to reveal everything,” he told Euronews in
2011.