Post date: Nov 22, 2012 9:48:38 AM
French former president Nicolas Sarkozy quizzed by judicial officials about allegations he received cash payments to finance his 2007 electoral campaign.
BORDEAUX, FRANCE (NOVEMBER 22, 2012) (REUTERS) - French former president Nicolas Sarkozy was being quizzed on Thursday (November 22) by an investigating magistrate over allegations that he received cash payments from one of Europe's richest women to finance his campaign for the 2007 presidency, judicial officials said.
Magistrate Jean-Michel Gentil interrogated Sarkozy over allegations that the money came from Liliane Bettencourt, the heiress to the L'Oreal cosmetics fortune.Judicial officials confirmed Sarkozy was inside the courthouse, but media that had massed outside eager for a glimpse of the former president were left guessing exactly which vehicle he arrived in.
Eyewitnesses said one convoy of cars with tinted windows that arrived under heavy police escort carried Sarkozy's lawyer, Thierry Herzog. But it was not immediately clear if Sarkozy was onboard too.
The interrogation followed a scandal which broke in 2010 when Bettencourt's daughter complained that her frail and aged mother was being taken advantage of by several people eager to tap into her wealth.
During the investigation, former employees alleged that among those to receive money were Sarkozy and the treasurer for his 2007 presidential campaign.
Sarkozy has strenuously denied any allegations of wrongdoing.
Until losing elections in May this year he retained full presidential immunity from prosecution.
At this stage, Sarkozy is being interrogated as a potential witness. Once the hearing is concluded, magistrates could leave his status untouched, formally place him under investigation -- or designate him as 'witness with legal assistance', an intermediary level.
Sarkozy is the second former head of state to appear before judicial officials to answer questions over political financing. His 79-year-old predecessor Jacques Chirac was sentenced earlier this year to a two-year suspended jail term over a party financing scandal in the 1980s.