Is anyone checking through the funds received by Pee Sai's Goh & Lees from outside governments?
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-...-held-over-gaddafi-cash-inquiry-idUSKBN1GW0RH
Former French president Sarkozy held over Gaddafi cash inquiry
Brian Love, Emmanuel Jarry
4 Min Read
An official in the French judiciary said Sarkozy, 63, was held in custody in Nanterre, west of Paris.
It is the second major judicial investigation to fall on Sarkozy, who served as president from 2007-2012. He already faces trial on separate charges of illicit spending overruns during his failed re-election campaign in 2012.
A lawyer for Sarkozy could not immediately be reached for comment. The former president has dismissed the Libya allegations as “grotesque” and a “crude manipulation”.
France’s center-right party, The Republicans, backed its former leader. “Members and supporters of The Republicans are once again left feeling that not all lawmakers or former lawmakers are treated equally, depending on their political affiliation,” the party said in a statement.
France opened an inquiry into the Libya case in 2013, after reports by French website Mediapart based on claims by a Franco-Lebanese businessman, Ziad Takieddine, who said he had transferred 5 million euros ($6 million) from Gaddafi’s former intelligence chief Abdullah Senussi to Sarkozy’s campaign chief.
Months after he took office in 2007, Sarkozy became the first Western leader in decades to host a visit by Gaddafi, who pitched his trademark Bedouin-style tent next to the Elysee Palace. Several business deals were signed.
However, Sarkozy was later one of the chief advocates of a NATO-led military campaign that resulted in Gaddafi’s overthrow and killing at the hands of rebel forces in 2011.
FILE PHOTO: Nicolas Sarkozy, former head of the Les Republicains political party, attends a Les Republicains (LR) public meeting in Les Sables d'Olonne, France, October 1, 2016. REUTERS/Stephane Mahe/File Photo
CAMPAIGN FINANCES
Investigators in France can hold people for questioning for up to 48 hours before either releasing them or sending them before magistrates who decide whether they have grounds for turning a preliminary inquiry into a full investigation.
The latter can, but does not always, lead to a trial.
The Libya-funding inquiry appeared to have gone quiet until January, when French businessman Alexandre Djouhri, suspected by investigators of funneling money from Gaddafi to finance Sarkozy’s campaign, was arrested in Britain on a warrant issued by France.
Slideshow (7 Images)
A lawyer for Djouhri last month accused French authorities of politicizing the case and manipulating it against his client. French authorities had no comment.
Sarkozy’s predecessor, Jacques Chirac, was convicted in 2011, after his retirement, of misusing public funds to keep political allies in phantom jobs. That made the now ailing Chirac the first French head of state convicted since Nazi collaborator Marshal Philippe Petain in 1945.
Sarkozy has been dogged for years by political scandals, but none has led to a conviction.
The Libya inquiry has largely focused on the evidence provided by Takieddine, who is himself under investigation in a separate affair of arms sales to Pakistan in the 1990s.
Takieddine said in 2016 that he personally handed over three suitcases filled with cash from Gaddafi to Sarkozy and a senior aide to help finance Sarkozy’s campaign.
Sarkozy’s lawyer at the time, Thierry Herzog, dismissed Takieddine’s claims and produced a copy of a witness statement to police by Takieddine in 2012 in which the businessman said he had last seen Sarkozy in November 2003.
Reporting by Paris bureau; Writing by Brian Love; Editing by Luke Baker, Richard Lough and Peter Graff
Our Standards:The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-43469316
French police hold ex-president Sarkozy over 'Gaddafi funding'
Image caption Mr Sarkozy (left) clinched big trade deals for France with Libya's Gaddafi in 2007 when he was president
Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy has been taken into police custody for questioning over allegations that he received campaign funding from the late Libyan leader Col Muammar Gaddafi.
Police are investigating alleged irregularities over the financing of his 2007 presidential campaign.
Police have questioned him previously as part of the probe. Mr Sarkozy has denied any wrongdoing.
The centre-right politician failed to return to power in 2012.
Judicial sources said he was being questioned in Nanterre, a suburb in western Paris.
In 2013, France opened an investigation into allegations that his campaign had benefited from illicit funds from Gaddafi.
The sources said one of Mr Sarkozy's former ministers and a close ally, Brice Hortefeux, was also being questioned by police on Tuesday.
Image copyright Reuters
Image caption Alexandre Djouhri is in London fighting extradition to France
A former aide, Alexandre Djouhri, is fighting extradition to France after being arrested in London in January on suspicion of money laundering as part of the case.
The Swiss businessman has denied the allegation and says the investigation is politically motivated, according to Reuters news agency.
The claims about funding from Gaddafi came from a French-Lebanese businessman, Ziad Takieddine, and some former Gaddafi regime officials.
So is Mr Sarkozy being prosecuted?
The investigation has not reached that stage yet. "Garde à vue" - custody - means he can be held and questioned by police for up to 48 hours. Then he may appear before a judge and may face charges.
French media say it is the first time that police have detained him over the Libya allegations.
But he was detained in 2014 in a separate investigation into alleged campaign funding abuses - the first time this has happened to a French ex-president.
What are the specific allegations in this case?
In November 2016, Ziad Takieddine told the French news website Mediapart that in 2006-2007 he had handed over three suitcases stuffed with 200- and 500-euro notes to Mr Sarkozy and Claude Guéant, who was his chief of staff.
Image copyright AFP
Image caption Ziad Takieddine says he delivered Libyan cash to Mr Sarkozy's aides
Mr Takieddine alleged that the cash came from Gaddafi and totalled €5m (£4.4m; $6.2m).
Mr Guéant, who was managing Mr Sarkozy's presidential campaign at the time, told the franceinfo website on Tuesday that he had "never seen a penny of Libyan financing".
He was placed under formal investigation earlier this year over a €500,000 bank transfer in 2008. He has denied wrongdoing and claimed the money came from the sale of two paintings.
French daily Le Monde reported that Bashir Saleh, who ran Libya's sovereign wealth fund at the time, had confirmed that Gaddafi financed Mr Sarkozy.
Possible charges in this case would be influence peddling, fraud, handling of stolen goods and money laundering.
What about the other Sarkozy investigations?
Mr Sarkozy has been ordered to stand trial in a separate case of alleged illicit campaign financing.
It is alleged that he engaged in accounting fraud to overshoot the ceiling for campaign expenditure in 2012, which was €22.5m.
Mr Sarkozy denies he was aware of the overspending.
The affair is known as the Bygmalion scandal.
In connection with his 2007 campaign, Mr Sarkozy was previously cleared over claims that he had used secret funding from L'Oreal heiress Liliane Bettencourt and that he had tried to influence investigating magistrates.
Related Topics
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-...-held-over-gaddafi-cash-inquiry-idUSKBN1GW0RH
Former French president Sarkozy held over Gaddafi cash inquiry
Brian Love, Emmanuel Jarry
4 Min Read
An official in the French judiciary said Sarkozy, 63, was held in custody in Nanterre, west of Paris.
It is the second major judicial investigation to fall on Sarkozy, who served as president from 2007-2012. He already faces trial on separate charges of illicit spending overruns during his failed re-election campaign in 2012.
A lawyer for Sarkozy could not immediately be reached for comment. The former president has dismissed the Libya allegations as “grotesque” and a “crude manipulation”.
France’s center-right party, The Republicans, backed its former leader. “Members and supporters of The Republicans are once again left feeling that not all lawmakers or former lawmakers are treated equally, depending on their political affiliation,” the party said in a statement.
France opened an inquiry into the Libya case in 2013, after reports by French website Mediapart based on claims by a Franco-Lebanese businessman, Ziad Takieddine, who said he had transferred 5 million euros ($6 million) from Gaddafi’s former intelligence chief Abdullah Senussi to Sarkozy’s campaign chief.
Months after he took office in 2007, Sarkozy became the first Western leader in decades to host a visit by Gaddafi, who pitched his trademark Bedouin-style tent next to the Elysee Palace. Several business deals were signed.
However, Sarkozy was later one of the chief advocates of a NATO-led military campaign that resulted in Gaddafi’s overthrow and killing at the hands of rebel forces in 2011.
FILE PHOTO: Nicolas Sarkozy, former head of the Les Republicains political party, attends a Les Republicains (LR) public meeting in Les Sables d'Olonne, France, October 1, 2016. REUTERS/Stephane Mahe/File Photo
CAMPAIGN FINANCES
Investigators in France can hold people for questioning for up to 48 hours before either releasing them or sending them before magistrates who decide whether they have grounds for turning a preliminary inquiry into a full investigation.
The latter can, but does not always, lead to a trial.
The Libya-funding inquiry appeared to have gone quiet until January, when French businessman Alexandre Djouhri, suspected by investigators of funneling money from Gaddafi to finance Sarkozy’s campaign, was arrested in Britain on a warrant issued by France.
Slideshow (7 Images)
A lawyer for Djouhri last month accused French authorities of politicizing the case and manipulating it against his client. French authorities had no comment.
Sarkozy’s predecessor, Jacques Chirac, was convicted in 2011, after his retirement, of misusing public funds to keep political allies in phantom jobs. That made the now ailing Chirac the first French head of state convicted since Nazi collaborator Marshal Philippe Petain in 1945.
Sarkozy has been dogged for years by political scandals, but none has led to a conviction.
The Libya inquiry has largely focused on the evidence provided by Takieddine, who is himself under investigation in a separate affair of arms sales to Pakistan in the 1990s.
Takieddine said in 2016 that he personally handed over three suitcases filled with cash from Gaddafi to Sarkozy and a senior aide to help finance Sarkozy’s campaign.
Sarkozy’s lawyer at the time, Thierry Herzog, dismissed Takieddine’s claims and produced a copy of a witness statement to police by Takieddine in 2012 in which the businessman said he had last seen Sarkozy in November 2003.
Reporting by Paris bureau; Writing by Brian Love; Editing by Luke Baker, Richard Lough and Peter Graff
Our Standards:The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-43469316
French police hold ex-president Sarkozy over 'Gaddafi funding'
- 20 March 2018
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Image caption Mr Sarkozy (left) clinched big trade deals for France with Libya's Gaddafi in 2007 when he was president
Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy has been taken into police custody for questioning over allegations that he received campaign funding from the late Libyan leader Col Muammar Gaddafi.
Police are investigating alleged irregularities over the financing of his 2007 presidential campaign.
Police have questioned him previously as part of the probe. Mr Sarkozy has denied any wrongdoing.
The centre-right politician failed to return to power in 2012.
Judicial sources said he was being questioned in Nanterre, a suburb in western Paris.
In 2013, France opened an investigation into allegations that his campaign had benefited from illicit funds from Gaddafi.
The sources said one of Mr Sarkozy's former ministers and a close ally, Brice Hortefeux, was also being questioned by police on Tuesday.
Image copyright Reuters
Image caption Alexandre Djouhri is in London fighting extradition to France
A former aide, Alexandre Djouhri, is fighting extradition to France after being arrested in London in January on suspicion of money laundering as part of the case.
The Swiss businessman has denied the allegation and says the investigation is politically motivated, according to Reuters news agency.
The claims about funding from Gaddafi came from a French-Lebanese businessman, Ziad Takieddine, and some former Gaddafi regime officials.
So is Mr Sarkozy being prosecuted?
The investigation has not reached that stage yet. "Garde à vue" - custody - means he can be held and questioned by police for up to 48 hours. Then he may appear before a judge and may face charges.
French media say it is the first time that police have detained him over the Libya allegations.
But he was detained in 2014 in a separate investigation into alleged campaign funding abuses - the first time this has happened to a French ex-president.
What are the specific allegations in this case?
In November 2016, Ziad Takieddine told the French news website Mediapart that in 2006-2007 he had handed over three suitcases stuffed with 200- and 500-euro notes to Mr Sarkozy and Claude Guéant, who was his chief of staff.
Image copyright AFP
Image caption Ziad Takieddine says he delivered Libyan cash to Mr Sarkozy's aides
Mr Takieddine alleged that the cash came from Gaddafi and totalled €5m (£4.4m; $6.2m).
Mr Guéant, who was managing Mr Sarkozy's presidential campaign at the time, told the franceinfo website on Tuesday that he had "never seen a penny of Libyan financing".
He was placed under formal investigation earlier this year over a €500,000 bank transfer in 2008. He has denied wrongdoing and claimed the money came from the sale of two paintings.
French daily Le Monde reported that Bashir Saleh, who ran Libya's sovereign wealth fund at the time, had confirmed that Gaddafi financed Mr Sarkozy.
Possible charges in this case would be influence peddling, fraud, handling of stolen goods and money laundering.
What about the other Sarkozy investigations?
Mr Sarkozy has been ordered to stand trial in a separate case of alleged illicit campaign financing.
It is alleged that he engaged in accounting fraud to overshoot the ceiling for campaign expenditure in 2012, which was €22.5m.
Mr Sarkozy denies he was aware of the overspending.
The affair is known as the Bygmalion scandal.
In connection with his 2007 campaign, Mr Sarkozy was previously cleared over claims that he had used secret funding from L'Oreal heiress Liliane Bettencourt and that he had tried to influence investigating magistrates.
Related Topics
