France's Sarkozy detained over allegations of bribery by Libya

PARIS — Former French president Nicolas Sarkozy was taken into police custody early Tuesday over allegations that he illegally accepted 50 million euros ($61.4 million) from the government of the late Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi to finance his successful 2007 presidential campaign.

The detaining of Sarkozy — France’s president between 2007 and 2012 — represented a major development in what is now likely to become an explosive political scandal. After years of Sarkozy denying the allegations that he had taken money from Gaddafi, Tuesday marked the first time authorities questioned the former president.

If the allegations are true, it would mean that Sarkozy knowingly violated France’s campaign finance laws, which in 2007 capped campaign funding at 21 million euros.

Under French law, authorities can hold a suspect in custody for up to 48 hours, at which point they can decide whether there are sufficient grounds to launch a formal investigation.

The case against the former center-right president has been brewing for years.

In 2012, Mediapart, a French investigative news outlet, published a report suggesting Sarkozy’s campaign had taken 50 million euros from Gaddafi’s government.

In November 2016, Ziad Takieddine, the Franco-Lebanese millionaire, claimed that he had personally overseen the cash transfer of 5 million euros from Libya to Sarkozy’s entourage in 2006, when Sarkozy was France’s Interior Minister. Takieddine said he delivered the money to Claude Guéant, Sarkozy’s chief of staff.

In January, Alexandre Djouhri, a French businessman and former Sarkozy associate, was arrested at London’s Heathrow Airport in connection with the probe, but was released on bail.

The Libya probe adds to an already complicated relationship between Sarkozy and Gaddafi.

After his victory in 2007, Sarkozy welcomed Gaddafi to France for a state visit. But by 2011, Sarkozy had established France as a leading player in the multistate NATO coalition that ultimately topped Gaddafi’s regime.

The latest allegations only intensify public scrutiny on Sarkozy, who is already set to stand trial in a separate case, concerning allegations that his unsuccessful 2012 reelection campaign also received illegal funding. Sarkozy has denied those accusations, too.

Sarkozy would not be France’s first former head of state to face a conviction after leaving office.

In 2011, Jacques Chirac, Sarkozy’s immediate predecessor and also a leader of the center-right party, was given a suspended sentence of two years for the misuse of public funds, although the conviction pertained to activities dating to his tenure as mayor of Paris, not to his presidency.

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