French judges looking into the Clearstream smear scandal on Wednesday questioned a key suspect over new allegations targeting former prime minister Dominique de Villepin.
Jean-Louis Gergorin, former vice-president of the European aerospace company EADS, was interviewed over evidence that in 2004 he was instructed by Villepin to leak false claims implicating President Nicolas Sarkozy, then interior minister, in a financial scam.
Gergorin, 61, has admitted sending a faked list of account-holders at the Clearstream bank of Luxembourg to a judge in mid-2004, but he insists he thought the document was genuine. He is under judicial investigation for libel.
Fresh evidence against Villepin emerged two weeks ago, when investigators retrieved personal files from the computer of former intelligence chief Philippe Rondot. In a note dated May 26 2005, Rondot said he was told by Gergorin that "he (Gergorin) had received instructions from Dominique de Villepin and had decided to speak to the judge."
The Clearstream judges have since searched Villepin's home and office and have arranged to interview him on July 27. Villepin has said he also expects to be placed under judicial investigation - the first step leading to possible criminal charges.
Investigators believe that Villepin may have encouraged the dissemination of a libel against Sarkozy in order to scupper his bid for the presidency. At the time Villepin was seen as a rival for the centre-right's presidential nomination.
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