Sarkozy allies charged in French fraud probe
Three allies of French former president Nicolas Sarkozy were idicted on Saturday in connection with an investigation into the financing of his failed 2012 president campaign.
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The so-called “Bygmalion affair” centred on invoices totalling some 18.5 million euros for events hosted by PR company Bygmalion during the campaign that were allegedly footed by Sarkozy’s UMP party instead of campaign coffers.
The accused includes former top aide Eric Cesari, party financial director Fabienne Liadze, and former communications chief Pierre Chassat.
They were charged with forger and abuse of trust, according to a legal source speaking to Agence France Presse (AFP).
The three were arrested Thursday from their homes and were brought before a judge on Saturday morning after being questioned for two days.
The charges come two weeks after Sarkozy announced that he would run for the leadership of the conservative UMP, viewed as a precursor to a presidential bid in 2017.
Sarkozy has long denied any wrongdoing in the Bygmalion affair.
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