Carla Bruni Sarkozy, wife of former French President Nicolas Sarkozy, has been summoned again as part of the extensive investigation into the Libyan financing of his 2007 election campaign. A source close to the case indicated that the former singer and model (56 years old) is facing charges of complicity in witness tampering and belonging to a criminal organization for the purpose of preparing fraud in court and corrupting Lebanese judicial officials.
The date for her questioning has not been set, and she married the former president in 2008. At the conclusion of the questioning, she could either face charges or be considered a corroborative witness at best. She has previously been interrogated by investigators from the Central Office for the Fight against Corruption and Financial and Tax Crimes twice: first as a witness in June 2023 and then as a suspect at the beginning of May last year.
The judicial investigation, which began in May 2021, aims to uncover the roles played by 12 individuals close to Sarkozy in altering the stance of French-Lebanese intermediary Ziad Takieddine during an interview organized by Michèle Marchand, owner of the agency "Best Image." At the end of 2020, Takieddine unexpectedly exonerated the former president (2007-2012) after being the main accuser in the "Libyan funds" case that involved payments made by the regime of the late Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi.
Sarkozy is suspected of consenting to these manipulations, though he denies it. He is scheduled to be tried early next year on charges of "concealing embezzlement of public funds" and "illegal financing of an election campaign." His lawyers filed a request to dismiss these proceedings in April.
Elements from the investigation, which Agenge France-Presse has learned about and were partially published by the newspaper "Le Parisien," indicate that the financial investigating judge assigned to the case believes there is evidence of Carla Bruni Sarkozy using a secret phone line. The judge considers that the mentioned line was used by the couple to receive messages from Michèle Marchand regarding how to execute the campaign financing. Ziad Takieddine, who has sought refuge in Lebanon to avoid arrest in France, is the main accused against Sarkozy. However, he retracted his accusation at the end of 2020, asserting to media outlets that the former president "did not receive a single penny to finance the presidential election campaign" in 2007.
