French investigators have completed the investigation of former President Nicolas Sarkozy and judges are considering whether to launch a formal investigation into allegations of illegal financing of his election campaign, sources familiar with the case said today.
After a brief overnight break, Sarkozy was detained for a second day while being questioned as part of a campaign to fund his 2007 election campaign by former Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi.
"The detention of Nicolas Sarkozy is over," said one source, without elaborating on any action taken by the judges.
The French president from 2007 to 2012 was seen by a Reuters photojournalist as he was leaving his home in Paris with his lawyer in a car and then entering the offices of the police authorities, who detained him. and yesterday they started interrogating him.
His interrogation yesterday, Tuesday, was interrupted around midnight, according to sources close to the investigation.
Neither Sarkozy nor his lawyers have publicly commented on the latest developments in the investigation into the case, which has been under way for five years. However, Sarkozy, 63, has in the past described the allegations as "ridiculous" and "a product of manipulation".
Judges are interested in financial flows involving individuals linked to the regime of former Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi. Former Tripoli officials and French-Lebanese mediator Ziad Takiedin have spoken of paying money for Nicolas Sarkozy's campaign.
The case erupted in 2012 following the publication by Mediapart of a note attributed to Musa Koussa, the former head of Libya's foreign intelligence service, implying a Libyan funding of Nicolas Sarkozy's election campaign.
