• Home
• /
• World

2007 campaign financing probe closes in on Sarkozy

The investigation into alleged illegal financing of Sarkozy’s 2007 campaign by L’Oreal heiress Liliane Bettencourt has gathered momentum along with campaigning for the two-round presidential election in April and May.

Investigating magistrate Jean-Michel Gentil cited two dubious withdrawals of 400,000 euros each from Swiss bank accounts by an intermediary to Bettencourt’s close aide Patrice de Maistre, the Journal du Dimanche reported.

Gentil on March 23 charged de Maistre with several alleged crimes and ordered him detained.

The first withdrawal was made on February 5, 2007, two days before a meeting between de Maistre and Eric Woerth, who was at the time treasurer of Sarkozy’s campaign to be elected president in three months time.

Woerth later became labour minister but resigned in 2010 as the campaign financing probe gathered pace and in 2011 police carried out searches of his home and the UMP’s office in connection with the case.

Bettencourt’s accountant, Claire Thibout, has testified to having been asked a number of times in 2007 to provide batches of 150,000 euros to Woerth.

The second questionable withdrawal was made on April 26, 2007 — four days after the first round of the presidential election and over a week ahead of the second round on May 6 that Sarkozy went on to win.

On April 26, former Bettencourt confidante and photographer Francois-Marie Banier wrote in his diary that the heiress told him: ‘De Maistre told me that Sarkozy had asked for money again. I said yes.’

On Tuesday, Le Monde newspaper quoted Banier as seeking to play down the significance of his diary entry when he was interviewed by judge Gentil.

‘I’m a writer and I find it interesting to show the relations of a woman dealing with her concern when faced with people whom she should trust.’

‘This request for money was an official request, because there are always official requests during campaigns. There’s an official amount that you can give and there are always all kinds of people who come to ask for money from Liliane Bettencourt,’ Banier said.

Le Monde said that a former chauffeur told Gentil during an interview on March 8 that a Bettencourt nurse, who has since died, told him that around the same time ‘Mr Sarkozy came very quickly for a meeting with sir and madame, that it was to ask for money.’

Socialist spokesman Benoit Hamon said that Sarozy must ‘explain himself’.

Yann Werhling, an aide to centrist presidential candidate Francois Bayrou, said: ‘There’s a suspicion of large amounts of money having been transferred to Nicolas Sarkozy’s campaign account in 2007, there’s talk of 800,000 euros. It would be better to know very quickly’ more about the allegations.

Green candidate and former prosecutor Eva Joly called for Sarkozy to ‘give up his immunity (as head of state) and go and explain himself’.

Sarkozy’s right-wing government did not comment on Tuesday. On Monday, Foreign Minister Alain Juppe said he had ‘always trusted Eric Woerth, he’s a correct and honest guy.’

Sarkozy, who is neck-and-neck with Socialist candidate Francois Hollande in opinion polls ahead of this year’s presidential election, has always strongly denied he or his campaigns took illegal cash.