Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy is in custody over a scandal where he is accused of receiving $60 million in election funds from the Libyan dictatorship of Muammar Gaddafi.

Sarkozy, who led his country from 2007 to 2012, was under the control of police in the Paris suburb of Nanterre on Tuesday morning, according to Mediapart, which first exposed claims about the conservative Republican’s financial backing in 2012.

Revelations about the scandal have continued to come out in recent years, with Franco-Lebanese businessman Ziad Takkiedine saying last year that he helped carry suitcases full of cash to the then-candidate in 2006 and 2007.

Sarkozy has denied the allegations, which Mediapart reported as involving 50 million euros ($61.5 million).

The maximum donation to a French candidate is capped by law at 7,500 euros.

An investigation into the case has been underway since 2013.

Gaddafi, who had ruled Libya for decades, died a gruesome death in 2011 after a Western intervention against his country during the Arab Spring, in which France participated.

Sarkozy’s time in custody can last for 48 hours before he must be charged, and it is not clear what counts he could face.

Multiple French media outlets reported that former French Interior Minister Brice Hortefeux is also being questioned. </s> Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy was being held in police custody on Tuesday for questioning by magistrates looking into allegations of Libyan funding for his 2007 election campaign, an official in the French judiciary said.A lawyer for Sarkozy could not be reached immediately for comment.France opened a judicial inquiry in 2013 into allegations that Sarkozy’s successful 2007 election bid benefited from illicit funds from late Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi.A former minister and close ally of Sarkozy, Brice Hortefeux, was also being questioned by police on Tuesday morning in relation to the Libya investigation, another source close to the probe said.Sarkozy, who served as president from 2007 to 2012, has always denied receiving any illicit campaign funding and has dismissed the Libyan allegations as “grotesque”.GaddafiIn January a French businessman suspected by investigators of funnelling money from Gaddafi to finance Sarkozy’s campaign was arrested in Britain and granted bail after he appeared in a London court.Sarkozy has already been ordered to stand trial in a separate matter concerning financing of his failed re-election campaign in 2012, when he was defeated by Francois Hollande. </s> PARIS (Reuters) - Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy was being held in police custody on Tuesday for questioning by magistrates looking into allegations of Libyan funding for his 2007 election campaign, an official in the French judiciary said.

A lawyer for Sarkozy could not be reached immediately for comment.

France opened a judicial inquiry in 2013 into allegations that Sarkozy’s successful 2007 election bid benefited from illicit funds from late Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi.

A former minister and close ally of Sarkozy, Brice Hortefeux, was also being questioned by police on Tuesday morning in relation to the Libya investigation, another source close to the probe said.

Sarkozy, who served as president from 2007 to 2012, has always denied receiving any illicit campaign funding and has dismissed the Libyan allegations as “grotesque”.

In January a French businessman suspected by investigators of funneling money from Gaddafi to finance Sarkozy’s campaign was arrested in Britain and granted bail after he appeared in a London court.

Sarkozy has already been ordered to stand trial in a separate matter concerning financing of his failed re-election campaign in 2012, when he was defeated by Francois Hollande. </s> Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy on Wednesday evening was charged with receiving illicit financing from Libya's then-government for his successful 2007 election campaign.

After the former head of state was questioned in police custody over two days, a three-judge panel charged Sarkozy with bribe-taking, illegal campaign financing and receiving Libyan public funds, local media reported.

The 63-year-old Sarkozy, France's center-right president from 2007 to 2012, is already facing illicit campaign financing charges stemming from his unsuccessful bid for re-election in 2012.

The former president, who has been released from custody, was questioned on Tuesday and Wednesday at the Judicial Police's headquarters in Nanterre, a suburb of Paris, over allegations he accepted illicit campaign donations from late Libyan strongman Muammar Gadaffi, who was deposed and killed in a Western-led intervention in 2011.

But Jean-Yves Dupeux, attorney for Brice Hortefeux - a former interior minister under Sarkozy who spent 15 hours Tuesday being grilled by the same anti-corruption investigators - told the BFMTV channel that the police fired at least 200 questions at his client, who categorically denied that Sarkozy had benefited from Libyan campaign financing.

Sarkozy himself has vehemently denied the allegations, including ones leveled by Ziad Takieddine, a French-Lebanese businessman and arms broker.

In November 2016, Takieddine told French news Web site Mediapart that he personally transported 5 million euros ($6 million) in cash from Tripoli to Paris and hand-delivered those funds to Sarkozy, the interior minister at the time, and to Claude Gueant.

Gueant, who was the director of Sarkozy's 2007 campaign, also is facing charges in the Libyan funding case.

Other evidence against Sarkozy includes a document published in April 2012 by Mediapart and allegedly drafted in December 2006 by Moussa Koussa, the then-head of Libya's intelligence service.

That document, which the former French president says is a forgery, pledged to provide 50 million euros for Sarkozy's 2007 campaign.

France launched an investigation into the allegations the following year. </s> Former French president Nicolas Sarkozy was being held in police custody on Tuesday for questioning by magistrates looking into allegations of Libyan funding for his 2007 election campaign, an official in the French judiciary said.

A lawyer for Mr Sarkozy could not be reached immediately for comment.

France opened a judicial inquiry in 2013 into allegations that Mr Sarkozy’s successful 2007 election bid benefited from illicit funds from late Libyan leader Muammar Gadafy.

A former minister and close ally of Mr Sarkozy, Brice Hortefeux, was also being questioned by police on Tuesday morning in relation to the Libya investigation, another source close to the investigation said.

Mr Sarkozy, who served as president from 2007 to 2012, has always denied receiving any illicit campaign funding and has dismissed the Libyan allegations as “grotesque”.

In January a French businessman suspected by investigators of funnelling money from Gadafy to finance Mr Sarkozy’s campaign was arrested in Britain and granted bail after he appeared in a London court.

Mr Sarkozy has already been ordered to stand trial in a separate matter concerning financing of his failed re-election campaign in 2012, when he was defeated by Francois Hollande. – Reuters </s> FORMER FRENCH PRESIDENT Nicolas Sarkozy has been taken into police custody for questioning over suspected Libyan financing of his 2007 election campaign, a source close to the inquiry told AFP.

Sarkozy, aged 63, had until now refused to respond to a summons for questioning in the case, which drew heightened scrutiny last November when a businessman admitted delivering three cash-stuffed suitcases from the Libyan leader as contributions towards the French leader’s first presidential bid.

Sarkozy’s detention was first reported by the Mediapart investigative news site and French daily Le Monde and comes several weeks after a former associate, Alexandre Djouhri, was arrested in London and later released on bail.

Djouhri was returned to pre-trial detention in February after France issued a second warrant for his arrest, ahead of a hearing scheduled for 28 March.

A source close to the inquiry also said that Brice Hortefeux, a top government minister during Sarkozy’s presidency, was also questioned today as part of the inquiry.

Before his arrest in January, Djouhri, a 59-year-old Swiss resident, was well known among France’s right-wing political establishment and had refused to respond to the summons for questioning in Paris.

He has been a focus of the inquiry opened in 2013 by judges investigating earlier claims by late Libyan ruler Moamer Kadhafi and his son Seif al-Islam that they provided funds for Sarkozy’s election effort.

Sarkozy has dismissed the allegations as the claims of vindictive Libyan regime members furious over his participation in the US-led military intervention that ended Kadhafi’s 41-year rule.

Franco-Lebanese businessman Ziad Takieddine said he had made three trips from Tripoli to Paris in late 2006 and early 2007 with cash for Sarkozy’s campaign.

Each time he carried a suitcase containing €1.5 million to €2.0 million in €200 and €500 notes, Takieddine claimed in a French media interview, saying he was given the money by Kadhafi’s military intelligence chief Abdallah Senussi.

More: Nicolas Sarkozy knocked out of French presidential race </s> PARIS — Former French president Nicolas Sarkozy was placed in custody on Tuesday as part of an investigation into allegations he received millions of euros in illegal campaign financing from the regime of the late Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi.

A judicial source with direct knowledge of the case told The Associated Press that Sarkozy was being held at the Nanterre police station, north-west of Paris. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly.

Sarkozy has vehemently and repeatedly denied wrongdoing in the case, which involves funding for his winning 2007 presidential campaign.

Though an investigation has been underway since 2013, the case gained traction some three years later when French-Lebanese businessman Ziad Takieddine told the online investigative site, Mediapart, that he delivered suitcases from Libya containing 5 million euros ($6.2 million) in cash to Sarkozy and his former chief of staff Claude Gueant.

A lawyer for Sarkozy, 63, did not immediately respond to a message from the AP seeking comment.

Investigators are examining claims that Gadhafi's regime secretly gave Sarkozy 50 million euros overall for the 2007 campaign. Such a sum would be more than double the legal campaign funding limit at the time of 21 million euros. In addition, the alleged payments would violate French rules against foreign financing and declaring the source of campaign funds.

A former top aide of Sarkozy, former minister Brice Hortefeux, was reportedly questioned on Tuesday but was not detained. Sarkozy can be held up to 48 hours and could be placed under formal investigation after his hearing.

In the Mediapart interview published in November 2016, Takieddine said he was given 5 million euros in Tripoli by Gadhafi's intelligence chief on trips in late 2006 and 2007 and that he gave the money in suitcases full of cash to Sarkozy and Gueant on three occasions. He said the handovers took place in the Interior Ministry, while Sarkozy was interior minister.

Takieddine has for years been embroiled in his own problems with French justice, centring mainly on allegations he provided illegal funds to the campaign of conservative politician Edouard Balladur for his 1995 presidential election campaign — via commissions from the sale of French submarines to Pakistan.

Takieddine made his accusations at a time when Sarkozy was taking part in the presidential elections' primary to be the candidate of the right-wing party The Republicans. Sarkozy lost in the first round, ending third behind Francois Fillon and Alain Juppe. </s> The Latest on the investigation of former French President Nicolas Sarkozy (all times local):

Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy has been handed preliminary charges over allegations he took millions of euros in illegal campaign funding from the late Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi.

A judicial source with direct knowledge of the case told The Associated Press that the charges include illegally funding a campaign, passive corruption and receiving money from Libyan embezzlement.

The person spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly. According to the same source, Sarkozy proclaimed his innocence during two days of questioning with anti-corruption police officers

Sarkozy was France’s president from 2007-12, has repeatedly and vehemently denied any wrongdoing.

An investigation involving funding for his winning 2007 presidential campaign first was launched in 2013. Investigators are examining claims that Gadhafi’s regime secretly gave the politician 50 million euros overall for his campaign.

Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy is being questioned by police for a second day over allegations he took millions of euros in illegal campaign funding from the late Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi.

After spending the night at home, Sarkozy has returned to a police station in Nanterre, northwest of Paris, to be questioned by anticorruption police officers, a person with direct knowledge of the case told The Associated Press.

The person spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly.

An investigation has been underway since 2013 into the case, involving funding for Sarkozy’s winning 2007 presidential campaign. The 63-year-old Sarkozy has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing. </s> Paris: Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy has been charged with receiving illicit financing from the regime of the late Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi for his 2007 election campaign.

After the former head of state was questioned in police custody over two days, a three-judge panel on Wednesday evening charged Sarkozy with bribe-taking, illegal campaign financing and receiving Libyan public funds, reports Efe news. The 63-year-old Sarkozy, France’s centre-right president from 2007 to 2012, is already facing illicit campaign financing charges stemming from his unsuccessful bid for re-election in 2012.

The former President, who has been released from custody, was questioned on Tuesday and Wednesday at the Judicial Police’s headquarters in Nanterre, a suburb of Paris, over allegations he accepted illicit campaign donations from Gadafi, who was deposed and killed in a Western-led intervention in 2011. It remains unknown what Sarkozy told investigators.

But Jean-Yves Dupeux, attorney for Brice Hortefeux – a former interior minister under Sarkozy who spent 15 hours on Tuesday being grilled by the same anti-corruption investigators – told the BFMTV channel that the police fired at least 200 questions at his client, who categorically denied that Sarkozy had benefited from Libyan campaign financing. Sarkozy himself has vehemently denied the allegations, including ones levelled by Ziad Takieddine, a French-Lebanese businessman and arms broker.

In November 2016, Takieddine told French news website Mediapart that he personally transported 5 million euros ($6 million) in cash from Tripoli to Paris and hand-delivered those funds to Sarkozy, the interior minister at the time, and to Claude Gueant. Gueant, who was the director of Sarkozy’s 2007 campaign, also is facing charges in the Libyan funding case.

Other evidence against Sarkozy includes a document published in April 2012 by Mediapart and allegedly drafted in December 2006 by Moussa Koussa, the former head of Libya’s intelligence service. That document, which the former French president says is a forgery, pledged to provide 50 million euros for Sarkozy’s 2007 campaign. France launched an investigation into the allegations the following year.
Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy is held for up to 48 hours and questioned by police in Nanterre over allegations that he illegally accepted €50 million from Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi to finance his bid in the 2007 presidential election.