Libyan payment to Sarkozy 'cardinal' confirmed by Paris appeal court
Former French interior minister Claude Guéant, who served for years as chief of staff of Nicolas Sarkozy before and after he became president, received 500,000 euros paid through a complex money trail that led back to a sovereign wealth fund controlled by the late Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, a Paris appeal court has confirmed. The payment was made when Guéant, dubbed “the cardinal” because of his power and influence as Sarkozy’s right-hand man, was secretary general of the Élysée Palace. Fabrice Arfi and Karl Laske report.
AA ruling by a Paris appeal court has confirmed that former French interior minister Claude Guéant, a longstanding chief of staff for Nicolas Sarkozy, received a disguised payment of half a million euros from funds of the regime of the late Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi.
