0
Tuesday 13 March 2012 - 10:45

Gaddafi donated €50 million to Sarkozy’s 2007 election campaign: Report

Story Code : 145370
Slain Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi (R) and French President Nicolas Sarkozy (file photo)
Slain Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi (R) and French President Nicolas Sarkozy (file photo)
In a report published on Monday, the Mediapart news website claimed that one of its journalists has seen documents confirming the contributions.

According to the report, the money had been laundered through bank accounts in Switzerland and Panama.

“We knew these documents existed but it is the first time we have had the details of what was in them,” Mediapart journalist Fabrice Arfi said.

“And there are lots of details, including dates, places and amounts,” Arfi added.

The French president angrily denied the allegations during an interview at TF1, the French national television channel.

“If he [Gaddafi] had financed it [the election campaign], then I haven’t been very grateful,” Sarkozy replied to a journalist asking about the report.

Sarkozy was the French interior minister before the presidential election in 2007. Upon winning the election, he invited Gaddafi to France and let him set up his Bedouin tent close to the Elysee Palace in Paris during his stay in the European country. The French president also reportedly referred to Gaddafi as the “Brother Leader” at the time.
Comment