The key document that could land Sarkozy before a judge in Karachi political funding scandal

ItIt could be the document that sees Nicolas Sarkozy being investigated by judges for his role in the so-called Karachi Affair. Examining magistrates probing claims that ministers and officials in the 1990s colluded to fund prime minister Édouard Balladur's doomed president bid in 1995 using kickbacks from French arms deals with Pakistan and Saudi Arabia have found a key letter signed by Nicolas Sarkozy.

The letter, published here by Mediapart, below, is dated December 19th, 1994 and shows that as budget minister in Balladur's government Sarkozy gave his agreement to the guarantees underpinning one of the defence deals from which the illegal political funding allegedly came. This document, found in archives at the ministry of defence, appears to demolish Sarkozy's repeated claims that as a minister he had no involvement in the defence deals with Pakistan and Saudi Arabia at the time. The deal which Sarkozy supports in the letter is known as the Mouette contract, involving the overhaul of frigates sold by France to Saudi Arabia in the 1980s. Under its terms some 832 million francs in commissions (about 126 million euros) – described in the jargon as “exceptional commercial expenses” - were handed over to intermediaries including the key figure of arms dealer Ziad Takkieddine. The letter signed by Sarkozy effectively allowed 210 million francs (about 32 million euros) in “advance” payments on those commissions to be paid to Takieddine and his network, including 80 million francs (12 million euros) handed over before the first round of the 1995 presidential election. The allegation is that part of this cash and money from commissions in three other contracts were secretly brought back into France to fund Balladur's campaign in that election.

Already three former senior officials from the era, Thierry Gaubert, an advisor to Sarkozy when he was budget minister, Nicolas Bazire, who was prime minister Balladur's chief of staff and then director of his presidential campaign, and Renaud Donnedieu de Vabres, an advisor to then defence minister François Léotard, have been placed under formal investigation  – one step short of charges being brought – for their alleged role in re-routing this cash back into France. All are being investigated for “aiding and abetting the misuse of company assets”, with Gaubert and Donnedieu de Vabres also facing claims of receiving the proceeds.

In June 2013 Takieddine, who was placed under formal investigation in the affair in September 2011, finally admitted his role in the illegal funding of of the Balladur campaign. In particular he has claimed he handed over cash to Gaubert during three separate meetings in Geneva. On the first two occasions the sum was 1.5 million francs (228,000 euros), on the third occasion it was 3 million (457,000 euros). “Gaubert told me that they needed it to finish the campaign,” Takieddine told the examining magistrates.

However, those examining magistrates Renaud Van Ruymbeke and Roger Le Loire do not have the legal authority to place the three politicians under formal investigation with a view to them facing trial over the affair. Under current French law only the Cour de justice de la République (CJR) can try French politicians suspected of wrongdoing committed in the course of their ministerial duties.

This is why last week the lawyer representing families of the 11 French naval engineers killed by a bomb blast in Karachi in 2002 – an attack thought to be linked to the funding allegations – has asked for the two judges to stand down from the part of the case that involves the three politicians. Instead Olivier Morice wants the CJR to take up the investigation so that the three ministers can potentially face trial over their alleged role at the time.

Olivier Morice says he wants the “facts implicating Édouard Balladur, François Léotard and Nicolas Sarkozy” in the affair to be investigated formally by the CJR. “There exist serious and concordant clues or clues making plausible their involvement as an author of, or an accomplice to, the offences,” writes the lawyer in his formal demand, which Mediapart has seen.

In his submission Morice, whose initial formal complaint in December 2009 on behalf of the families triggered the investigation into the financial aspects of the affair, describes the deep frustration felt by relatives over the inability of the current investigation to pronounce on the involvement of the former ministers. “The only response that the families that we represent have had from these politicians since their names have come up in the judicial investigation is that these accusations are based on absurd stories. They would now like the examining magistrates to formally stand down from the case in relation to the aforementioned three ministers, thus confirming that we are certainly faced with one of the greatest scandals of the Fifth Republic.”

It is claimed that in addition to the political corruption laid bare by the alleged illegal funding, the agreement by Balladur's government to pay the commissions inadvertently led to the Karachi bomb blast in 2002. The investigation into the murders, led by Judge Marc Trévidic, has uncovered strong evidence that the attack was in revenge for the later non-payment of some of the commissions – in effect bribes - promised during the conclusion of the Agosta submarine sale to several Pakistani officials. After his election as president in 1995, the newly-elected President Jacques Chirac retaliated against his bitter rival Balladur by ordering the halting of all ‘commission' payments suspected of being re-routed to France. While some had already been paid, this blanket order blocked others that were staggered over several years.

'One law for the weak, one law for the powerful'

Lawyer Olivier Morice has also made it clear the families of the Karachi bomb victims are deeply unhappy that they have to resort to asking the CJR to be involved in the investigation, a court that makes some observers feel that there is a separate law for ministers. “The families intend to protest vigorously against the continued existence of this Cour de justice de la République which once again feeds the suspicion the weakest are not treated in the same way as the powerful,” says Morice, who talks about a “two-speed” justice system.

He points out, too, that as a candidate for the presidency the current head of state François Hollande had promised that he would abolish the CJR so that “politicians were judged like ordinary citizens”. However, Olivier Morice notes: “To this day, not only is this court still in operation, but when questioned by the families in September 2013 Mr François Hollande let it be known that the aforementioned abolition of the court was no longer being envisaged because of a lack of political consensus.”

The CJR certainly does not have a strong track record of prosecuting many ministers. Out of more than a thousand cases initially referred to the court since its creation in 1993, just six have come to trial, with three of them resulting in convictions. However the court is currently investigating the role of former French finance minister and current managing director of the International Monetary Fund Christine Lagarde in the so-called Tapie Affair involving a huge arbitration award to tycoon Bernard Tapie in 2008.

As for the claims about Sarkozy's involvement in the Mouette contract, some of his advisers from the period have sought to deny any responsibility on his part. In February 2013, for example, Sarkozy's former technical adviser Philippe Braidy claimed that he did not remember “these subjects” ever being brought to the minister's office or the minister himself.

However in July 2012 a senior civil servant at the budget ministry, Patricia Laplaud, told police officers carrying out the investigation that she had been strongly opposed to the “advance” commission payments to intermediaries in relation to the Mouette contract. “When I saw the [secret commission] 'advances' it was a financial risk factor for the contract and in time-honoured fashion we asked for a covering letter for the finance controller at the ministry of the defence,” she told officers. “Because of the advances and the importance of the contract we needed a written agreement from our minister [editor's note, Nicolas Sarkozy] which we obtained. The Mouette contract was an important deal. A note was sent to the minister's office to get this agreement.” Laplaud was also told in relation to the advance payments: “The explanation that was given to me was that the people it was destined for wanted their money in a hurry.”

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English version by Michael Streeter