Three allies of French former president Nicolas Sarkozy were indicted* on Saturday in connection with an investigation into the financing of his failed 2012 president campaign, reports RFI.
The so-called “Bygmalion affair” centred on invoices totalling some 18.5 million euros for events hosted by PR company Bygmalion during the campaign that were allegedly footed by Sarkozy’s UMP party instead of campaign coffers.
The accused includes former top aide Eric Cesari, party financial director Fabienne Liadze, and former communications chief Pierre Chassat.
They were charged with forgery and abuse of trust, according to a legal source speaking to Agence France Presse (AFP).
Read more of this report from RFI.
*Under a change to the French legal system introduced in 1993, a magistrate can decide a suspect should be 'placed under investigation' (mise en examen), which is a status one step short of being charged (inculpé), if there is 'serious or concordant' evidence that they committed a crime. Some English-language media describe this status, peculiar to French criminal law, as that of being charged or indicted. In fact, it is only at the end of an investigation that a decision can be made to bring charges, in which case the accused is automatically sent for trial.