Post by Διαμονδ on Mar 21, 2018 23:19:36 GMT
Nicolas Sarkozy faces formal investigation over alleged Libya funding:
France’s ex-president is accused of receiving €50m in campaign funds from Muammar Gaddafi
The former French president Nicolas Sarkozy has been placed under formal investigation for illegal campaign financing, accepting bribes and the misappropriation of Libyan state funds over allegations that he received millions of euros in illegal election campaign funding from the regime of the late Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi.
Sarkozy, France’s rightwing president from 2007 to 2012, was released on bail on Wednesday after two days of questioning in police custody by investigators specialising in corruption, money laundering and tax evasion as part of an inquiry into whether Gaddafi and others in Libya illegally financed his successful election campaign in 2007.
The investigation is potentially France’s most explosive political financing scandal in decades. The allegations of illegal campaign funding by a foreign dictator on a massive scale are unprecedented and are the most serious accusations levelled at a former president in recent French history. Sarkozy has repeatedly denied the allegations, dismissing the claims as “grotesque”.
Under French law, being put under formal investigation means there is “serious or consistent evidence” that points to probable involvement in a crime. It is a step toward a trial but investigations can be dropped without proceeding to court.
The former president, 63, was allowed home on Wednesday night under bail conditions.
Continuation here - www.theguardian.com/world/2018/mar/21/nicolas-sarkozy-former-president-back-in-police-custody-over-libya-case
France’s ex-president is accused of receiving €50m in campaign funds from Muammar Gaddafi
The former French president Nicolas Sarkozy has been placed under formal investigation for illegal campaign financing, accepting bribes and the misappropriation of Libyan state funds over allegations that he received millions of euros in illegal election campaign funding from the regime of the late Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi.
Sarkozy, France’s rightwing president from 2007 to 2012, was released on bail on Wednesday after two days of questioning in police custody by investigators specialising in corruption, money laundering and tax evasion as part of an inquiry into whether Gaddafi and others in Libya illegally financed his successful election campaign in 2007.
The investigation is potentially France’s most explosive political financing scandal in decades. The allegations of illegal campaign funding by a foreign dictator on a massive scale are unprecedented and are the most serious accusations levelled at a former president in recent French history. Sarkozy has repeatedly denied the allegations, dismissing the claims as “grotesque”.
Under French law, being put under formal investigation means there is “serious or consistent evidence” that points to probable involvement in a crime. It is a step toward a trial but investigations can be dropped without proceeding to court.
The former president, 63, was allowed home on Wednesday night under bail conditions.
Continuation here - www.theguardian.com/world/2018/mar/21/nicolas-sarkozy-former-president-back-in-police-custody-over-libya-case