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Nicolas Sarkozy faces criminal charge after being placed under investigation
Nicolas Sarkozy under official investigation after questioning
(about 5 hours later)
Former French president Nicolas Sarkozy was placed under formal investigation on Wednesday, the prosecutor's office said, on suspicions he tried to use his influence to thwart an investigation of his 2007 election campaign.
Former French president Nicolas Sarkozy was put under official investigation for corruption and misuse of influence late on Tuesday after 15 hours in police custody.
The step, which often but not always leads to trial, is a major setback to Sarkozy's hopes of a comeback after his 2012 election defeat by Socialist rival Francois Hollande. The conservative politician denies all wrongdoing in a string of investigations in which he is either directly or indirectly implicated.
Sarkozy was "mis en examen" in a Paris court on allegations that he directly or indirectly used his power in an attempt to find out information about legal proceedings against him.
Investigating magistrates are looking to see whether Sarkozy used his influence to secure leaked details of an inquiry into alleged irregularities in his victorious 2007 election campaign.
The respected French financial publication Les Echos described it as a "spectacular measure" that comes as the former leader is planning his political comeback.
He is suspected of influence peddling, corruption and benefiting from "the breach of professional secrets," the prosecutor's office said.
Sarkozy's lawyer, Thierry Herzog, and a French magistrate are also now under official investigation. The two accusations carry sentences of up to 10 years in prison.
Sarkozy, 59, was held in police custody in the Paris suburb of Nanterre for nearly 15 hours before being transferred to a Paris court, where he met with investigating magistrates. He was released in the early hours of the morning.
After questioning Sarkozy on Tuesday at the police headquarters in Nanterre on the outskirts of Paris, the investigating magistrates heading the corruption inquiry decided there was enough evidence to put the former leader under official investigation.
Sarkozy's attorney and a judge involved in the case were similarly placed under formal investigation on suspicion of influence peddling, their attorneys said.
There is no exact equivalent of "mis en examen" or putting under formal investigation in British or US legal systems; the nearest is being charged or arraigned. Only an investigating judge can decide to put a suspect under formal investigation, and only if he or she finds "serious and concordant" suggestions of law-breaking.
"These events only rely on phone taps ... whose legal basis will be strongly contested," said Paul-Albert Iweins, lawyer for Sarkozy's attorney, Thierry Herzog.
Investigators will seek to establish whether Sarkozy, who is involved in a total of six separate legal cases, tried to obtain information about an investigation being carried out over whether he received illegal campaign donations for his successful 2007 presidential bid, including from former Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi and France's richest woman Liliane Bettencourt, the L'Oréal heiress.
"There's not a lot in this dossier, since none of the material elements of what I've seen, and what we could contest, support the accusations," he said.
It was while investigating the donations that detectives tapped the phones of Sarkozy and his lawyer Herzog. They are alleged to have heard the pair discussing an attempt to get information about the case from a magistrate in return for offering him a high-level role in Monaco.
Placing a suspect under formal investigation means there exists "serious or consistent evidence" pointing to probable implication of a suspect in a crime. Influence-peddling can be punished by up to five years in prison and a fine of 500,000 euros ($682,000).
Sarkozy has always denied any wrongdoing.
It is the second time the former president, who lost immunity from legal prosecution a month after he left office in June 2012, was placed under such a judicial probe. The first occurred in 2013 but magistrates later dropped the case against him. There are six cases, including this one, hanging over Sarkozy's head, a shadow that many in his UMP party believe compromises his ability to lead a comeback in 2017.
"These events only rely on phone taps ... whose legal basis will be strongly contested," said Paul-Albert Iweins, lawyer for Herzog.
The current questioning relates to suspicions he used his influence to get information on an investigation into funding irregularities in his victorious 2007 election campaign.
Being mis en examen gives the suspect's lawyer access to the documents of the case. After the investigating judge has concluded their inquiry - which can take years - the suspect is either brought before a court for trial or released without charge.
Specifically, magistrates will seek to establish whether Sarkozy tried to get a judge promoted to the bench in Monaco in exchange for information on that campaign finance inquiry.
Investigators are also looking at the financing of Sarkozy's unsuccessful 2012 presidential campaign. He lost to the Socialist François Hollande.
Last October, magistrates dropped a formal investigation into Sarkozy's role in irregularities in that 2007 campaign, and whether he had exploited the mental frailty of France's richest woman, L'Oreal heiress Liliane Bettencourt, to fund it.
But as investigators used phone-taps to examine separate allegations that late Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi funded the same campaign, they began to suspect he had kept tabs on the Bettencourt case through a network of informants.
Those suspicions finally prompted police to launch an inquiry in February, which led to Wednesday's formal investigation. Under French law, a suspect is not technically charged with a crime until later in the process.
Sarkozy has remained coy about his plans for a comeback, but has been widely believed to be laying the groundwork.
Sarkozy remains the favourite of conservatives to challenge Hollande but he is widely detested by left-wingers and his abrasive style alienated many middle-of-the-road voters.
