French Ex-President Sarkozy Charged with Corruption

Local Editor

France's former president Nicolas Sarkozy has been charged with corruption and influence peddling, French prosecutors said on Wednesday, marking the first time a French ex-head of state had been taken into custody in a criminal investigation.

The decision came after Sarkozy was questioned for 15 hours, in an unprecedented move against a former French president.

Sarkozy was detained at a police station in a Paris suburb over a suspected attempt to illegally influence judicial proceedings in one of a raft of corruption cases he is implicated in.

Following the lengthy questioning, he was taken in early Wednesday to appear before a judge, where he was "mis en examen" -- put under formal investigation in what amounts to being charged, based on preliminary evidence -- the prosecution said in a statement. He was then released while the investigation went ahead.

If convicted of the charges, Sarkozy could face a sentence of up to 10 years in prison.

Investigators suspect Sarkozy tried to obtain inside information from one of the magistrates about confidential proceedings in an illegal election campaign financing case, and that he was tipped off by a senior figure when judges tapped his phones.

The case was launched after judges looking into the alleged financing of Sarkozy's 2007 election campaign by former Libyan dictator Moammar Gadhafi obtained an unprecedented and controversial authorization to tap the former president's phones from April 2013.

After four months, they discovered Sarkozy had a secret phone registered under an assumed name, and recordings from that device led to the opening of the influence peddling investigation.

At the root of the case are the allegations that Sarkozy was helped to victory in the 2007 election with up to 50 million euros [$70 million at the time] from Gadhafi and envelopes stuffed with cash from France's richest woman, L'Oreal heiress Liliane Bettencourt.

The Gadhafi investigation is ongoing, as are several other cases in which Sarkozy has been implicated.

Recently in the last month, Sarkozy has also been linked to a scandal over the funding of his campaign for re-election in 2012.

The leader of his UMP party was forced to resign after it emerged that 10 million euros [$13.6 million] spent in support of Sarkozy had been passed off as party expenses.

Sarkozy denies any knowledge or involvement in the apparent fraud, which is now subject to another criminal probe.

Furthermore, Sarkozy has faced virtually non-stop legal battles since he left office following his defeat by French Socialist candidate Francois Hollande in the 2012 presidential vote.

He had been expected to attempt a political comeback in time for the next presidential poll in 2017, but those plans could be torpedoed after being charged in this case.

Additionally, Sarkozy's longtime lawyer Thierry Herzog and a magistrate, Gilbert Azibert -- taken into custody a day earlier alongside another magistrate -- were both charged with influence peddling in a late night court appearance, their respective lawyers said.

Sources: News Agencies, Edited by website team