Police search former French President Sarkozy's home
On July 3, French police searched the office and home of former President Nicolas Sarkozy in
The Montmorency villa where Mr Sarkozy lives with his wife Carla Bruni in the most exclusive area of Paris, his government-issued apartment and the law offices of Arnaud, Claude and Associates, in which the former president has a stake, were all searched. According to Mr Sarkozy's lawyer, the raid came a day after his client had been on holiday in
Mr. Sarkozy faces a series of investigations after leaving office.
(Photo: Newspano)
Investigators are examining allegations that staff of Liliane Bettencourt, heiress to the L'Oreal cosmetics empire and France's richest woman, gave envelopes filled with cash to Sarkozy's aides to raise funds for his 2007 presidential campaign.
In addition, witnesses confirmed that Mr. Sarkozy met Ms. Bettencourt twice at her home before the 2007 election. There is information that in these two meetings alone, Ms. Bettencourt donated 800,000 euros to Mr. Sarkozy, while the law only allows a maximum contribution of 4,600 euros. In return, Mr. Sarkozy promised to give preferential treatment to the cosmetics industry if elected. Mr. Sarkozy's lawyer Thierry Herzog said that the former president's family is currently on vacation in
French authorities are investigating whether cash withdrawn from the account of L'Oreal cosmetics heiress Liliane Bettencourt was used to illegally finance Nicolas Sarkozy's 2007 election campaign.
Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy began legal proceedings on June 18, filing his first lawsuit after his presidential immunity expired on June 15. The French constitution protects presidents from being questioned, investigated and prosecuted while in office until one month after leaving office. New French President Francois Hollande, who defeated Nicolas Sarkozy last month, has pledged to change the rules so that a president can be questioned on judicial matters while in office.
Mr. Sarkozy's predecessor, former President Jacques Chirac, who was in power from 1995 to 2007, was also sentenced to two years in prison, suspended, in December 2011 for misusing public funds for political purposes when he was mayor of Paris./.
According to VOV-M
