The former French president, Nicolas Sarkozy, was held in custody on Tuesday and questioned over claims that the late Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi paid him 50 million euros to fund a 2007 election campaign.
Mr Sarkozy, 63, was detained at a police station in the northwest of Paris over the explosive allegations that emerged in 2012 during his unsuccessful campaign to be re-elected as French leader.
He can be held for up to 48 hours. Mr Sarkozy has previously described the allegations against him as “grotesque”.
His detention followed allegations by Lebanese businessman, Ziad Takieddine, who claimed in 2016 that he personally handed over three suitcases filled with five million euros to Mr Sarkozy and a senior aide for his campaign fund.
He claimed the handover took place at the interior ministry, where Mr Sarkozy was in charge at the time. The alleged sums would have breached rules limiting funds for elections, and from foreign financing of political campaigns.
Months after he took office, Mr Sarkozy was criticised for hosting a state visit by Qaddafi, which was accompanied by the signing of several business deals. His visit was notable for being allowed to pitch his Bedouin tent close to the Elysee Palace.
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Read more:
Sarkozy praises UAE's leadership model
Qaddafi regime funded presidential campaigns in US, Ukraine, France
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Mr Sarkozy was later one of the chief advocates of a Nato-led military campaign that resulted in Qaddafi’s overthrown and killing at the hands of rebel forces in 2011.
Angered at the role of Mr Sarkozy in backing the rebels, Qaddafi’s son Saif Al Islam in 2011 described Mr Sarkozy as a “clown” and spoke for the first time about the campaign funds.
He demanded money back and threatened to release incriminating banking records saying that Mr Sarkozy had “disappointed” the regime.
The claims were largely ignored but were reignited following claims made by French website Mediapart the following year.
The authorities first launched an inquiry in 2013 but events have moved rapidly this year following the arrest of a French businessman in London in relation to the campaign finance investigation.
Alexandre Djouhri – a fixer who once tried to broker a pact between Qatar and Qaddafi to end the 2011 uprising – was arrested at London’s Heathrow Airport after leaving his home in Switzerland.
He faces allegations including fraud, money laundering and corruption.
His legal team has accused the French government of launching a politically motivated case and claimed that the case was not far enough progressed in France to warrant his arrest. A four-day extradition hearing is due to be held in July, a court official said.
A former top aide of Sarkozy, former minister Brice Hortefeux, was reportedly questioned on Tuesday but was not detained. Bashir Saleh, the former manager of the Libyan sovereign investment fund, fled from France to South Africa days after Mr Sarkozy lost his re-election bid apparently fearing arrest over the scandal. He said in a 2014 interview that claims were “fake”.
Investigators have recently handed to magistrates a report in which they detailed how cash circulated within Sarkozy's campaign team, according to Le Monde newspaper.
Mr Sarkozy has been dogged for years by political funding scandals but has never been convicted.
He was investigated for allegedly receiving illegal political funding for the 2007 election from the late Liliane Bettencourt, France’s richest woman and heir to the L’Oreal cosmetics fortune.
His home and offices were searched after defeat in the 2012 election but officials dropped the investigation the following year. He still faces trial over spending too much money on his failed 2012 campaign.
Quick pearls of wisdom
Focus on gratitude: And do so deeply, he says. “Think of one to three things a day that you’re grateful for. It needs to be specific, too, don’t just say ‘air.’ Really think about it. If you’re grateful for, say, what your parents have done for you, that will motivate you to do more for the world.”
Know how to fight: Shetty married his wife, Radhi, three years ago (he met her in a meditation class before he went off and became a monk). He says they’ve had to learn to respect each other’s “fighting styles” – he’s a talk it-out-immediately person, while she needs space to think. “When you’re having an argument, remember, it’s not you against each other. It’s both of you against the problem. When you win, they lose. If you’re on a team you have to win together.”
ENGLAND%20SQUAD
%3Cp%3EFor%20Euro%202024%20qualifers%20away%20to%20Malta%20on%20June%2016%20and%20at%20home%20to%20North%20Macedonia%20on%20June%2019%3A%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EGoalkeepers%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Johnstone%2C%20Pickford%2C%20Ramsdale.%0D%3Cbr%3E%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EDefenders%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Alexander-Arnold%2C%20Dunk%2C%20Guehi%2C%20Maguire%2C%20%20Mings%2C%20Shaw%2C%20Stones%2C%20Trippier%2C%20Walker.%0D%3Cbr%3E%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EMidfielders%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Bellingham%2C%20Eze%2C%20Gallagher%2C%20Henderson%2C%20%20Maddison%2C%20Phillips%2C%20Rice.%0D%3Cbr%3E%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EForwards%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFoden%2C%20Grealish%2C%20Kane%2C%20Rashford%2C%20Saka%2C%20Wilson.%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
A State of Passion
Directors: Carol Mansour and Muna Khalidi
Stars: Dr Ghassan Abu-Sittah
Rating: 4/5
BIGGEST CYBER SECURITY INCIDENTS IN RECENT TIMES
SolarWinds supply chain attack: Came to light in December 2020 but had taken root for several months, compromising major tech companies, governments and its entities
Microsoft Exchange server exploitation: March 2021; attackers used a vulnerability to steal emails
Kaseya attack: July 2021; ransomware hit perpetrated REvil, resulting in severe downtime for more than 1,000 companies
Log4j breach: December 2021; attackers exploited the Java-written code to inflitrate businesses and governments
Milestones on the road to union
1970
October 26: Bahrain withdraws from a proposal to create a federation of nine with the seven Trucial States and Qatar.
December: Ahmed Al Suwaidi visits New York to discuss potential UN membership.
1971
March 1: Alex Douglas Hume, Conservative foreign secretary confirms that Britain will leave the Gulf and “strongly supports” the creation of a Union of Arab Emirates.
July 12: Historic meeting at which Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid make a binding agreement to create what will become the UAE.
July 18: It is announced that the UAE will be formed from six emirates, with a proposed constitution signed. RAK is not yet part of the agreement.
August 6: The fifth anniversary of Sheikh Zayed becoming Ruler of Abu Dhabi, with official celebrations deferred until later in the year.
August 15: Bahrain becomes independent.
September 3: Qatar becomes independent.
November 23-25: Meeting with Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid and senior British officials to fix December 2 as date of creation of the UAE.
November 29: At 5.30pm Iranian forces seize the Greater and Lesser Tunbs by force.
November 30: Despite a power sharing agreement, Tehran takes full control of Abu Musa.
November 31: UK officials visit all six participating Emirates to formally end the Trucial States treaties
December 2: 11am, Dubai. New Supreme Council formally elects Sheikh Zayed as President. Treaty of Friendship signed with the UK. 11.30am. Flag raising ceremony at Union House and Al Manhal Palace in Abu Dhabi witnessed by Sheikh Khalifa, then Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi.
December 6: Arab League formally admits the UAE. The first British Ambassador presents his credentials to Sheikh Zayed.
December 9: UAE joins the United Nations.
Test
Director: S Sashikanth
Cast: Nayanthara, Siddharth, Meera Jasmine, R Madhavan
Star rating: 2/5
Company%20profile
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Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
Jurassic%20Park
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The Rub of Time: Bellow, Nabokov, Hitchens, Travolta, Trump and Other Pieces 1986-2016
Martin Amis,
Jonathan Cape
Brief scores:
Toss: Rajputs, elected to field first
Sindhis 94-6 (10 ov)
Watson 42; Munaf 3-20
Rajputs 96-0 (4 ov)
Shahzad 74 not out
Election pledges on migration
CDU: "Now is the time to control the German borders and enforce strict border rejections"
SPD: "Border closures and blanket rejections at internal borders contradict the spirit of a common area of freedom"
