Kim Willsher
The Guardian
French president hit by new claims as confidential note suggests ex-Libyan leader helped finance his election campaign
Damaging new claims have emerged about the funding of Nicolas Sarkozy‘s 2007 election campaign and his links with former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi emerged.
The French investigative website Mediapart claims to have seen a confidential note suggesting Gaddafi contributed up to €50m (£42m) to Sarkozy’s election fund five years ago.
Similar allegations emerged a year ago when Gaddafi’s son Saif al-Islam claimed Libya helped finance the 2007 campaign and demanded the French president, who led the war on the Libyan leader, return the money.
In an interview with the Euronews TV channel, Saif al-Islam, who is currently being held in Libya after his father’s defeat and death, threatened to make details of the bank transfers public after the French leader threw his weight behind opposition forces.
The latest allegations come at a crucial time for Sarkozy who is seeking a second term in office in a two-round election in under six weeks.
Mediapart journalist Fabrice Arfi told the Guardian he had seen leaked documents contained in the legal dossier of the affair, currently under investigation by a judge.
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