The French judiciary has charged Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, wife of former President Nicolas Sarkozy, in connection with the investigation into the alleged Libyan financing of her husband’s 2007 presidential campaign.
The charges were announced following an extensive interrogation session on Tuesday.
A judicial source, requesting anonymity, confirmed that the 57-year-old former singer and model has been placed under judicial monitoring.
The court has charged her with several offenses, including concealing evidence and participating in a conspiracy to commit fraud. As part of her judicial monitoring, she is prohibited from contacting any of the other defendants in the case, except for her husband.
Bruni-Sarkozy is accused of attempting to hide manipulations involving the key witness, Ziad Takieddine, who unexpectedly retracted his accusations against Nicolas Sarkozy. She is also alleged to have tried to deceive the judges investigating the suspected Libyan financing of the campaign.
In previous investigations by the Central Office for the Fight Against Corruption and Financial and Tax Crimes, Bruni-Sarkozy was questioned twice—first as a witness in June 2023 and later as a suspect in early May.
Her defense attorneys, Paul Mallet and Benoit Martinez, criticized the recent charges as a continuation of the legal actions against her husband, lacking substantial legal or factual basis.
The case, initiated in the spring of 2021, has seen Nicolas Sarkozy charged in October with witness tampering and conspiracy to commit fraud.
Sarkozy’s legal team has sought to have these charges dismissed and the investigation transferred.
It is alleged that Sarkozy was involved in maneuvers that led Takieddine to change his testimony in November 2020. Takieddine, initially the main witness in the Libyan financing case, suddenly exonerated Sarkozy, claiming he did not receive any money for the 2007 campaign.
Sarkozy is set to stand trial in early 2025 for charges including “concealment of embezzlement of public funds” and “illegal campaign financing.”
Meanwhile, Takieddine, who has sought refuge in Lebanon to avoid arrest in France, now states that Sarkozy did not receive any funds from the late Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi.
The judicial investigation, which began in May 2021, aims to uncover the roles of 12 individuals close to Sarkozy in influencing Takieddine’s change of testimony.
This development involved a media interview arranged by Michèle Marchand, known as “Mimi,” who runs the Best Image agency and is a friend of Carla Bruni-Sarkozy.
