Three allies of French former president Nicolas Sarkozy were charged on Saturday in connection with a probe into the financing of his 2012 presidential campaign. The so-called "Bygmalion affair" concerns invoices for events staged by PR company Bygmalion during the campaign that were allegedly charged to Sarkozy's UMP party rather than the campaign coffers.
Former top aide Eric Cesari, described as the "eyes" of the former president, was charged with forgery and abuse of trust along with party financial director Fabienne Liadze and former communications chief Pierre Chassat, a legal source told AFP. Sarkozy announced two weeks ago that he would run for the leadership of the conservative UMP, seen as clear positioning for another presidential bid in 2017.
Sarkozy, who lost re-election in 2012 to Socialist rival Francois Hollande, has always denied any wrongdoing in the Bygmalion affair. According to a source close to the inquiry, the UMP picked up the tab for around 18.5 million euros ($23.3 million) in expenses that should have been billed to the Sarkozy campaign. Despite a prime-time television outing and several days travelling around France drumming up support, Sarkozy's return to politics has become mired in his several legal battles. He received a boost last week in another case when a probe into corruption and influence-peddling was frozen pending a study of a request by Sarkozy to have it dismissed.
Comments
Comments are closed.