Revealed: the 2007 notebook that detailed Sarkozy's Libyan election funding

By and

A handwritten notebook kept by a senior Libyan figure details three payments made by Gaddafi's regime to fund Nicolas Sarkozy's 2007 presidential election campaign, Mediapart can reveal. Shukri Ghanem, who was then Libya's oil minister, took notes on the three payments made in 2007, which came to a total of 6.5 million euros. Ghanem later fled the North Africa country and was found dead in Austria in 2012. The discovery of his personal notebook and its entries from 2007 undermine claims by Sarkozy's camp that allegations of illegal Libyan funding are based on forged documents written after Gaddafi's fall from power. Fabrice Arfi and Karl Laske report.

Reading articles is for subscribers only. Subscribe now.

A small handwritten notebook kept by a senior figure in Muammar Gaddafi's regime in Libya details three secret payments made to Nicolas Sarkozy's team during the 2007 French presidential election, Mediapart can reveal. The notebook, kept by former Libyan oil minister Shukri Ghanem, was discovered after the latter's death in 2012 and its contents have been examined by French investigating judge Serge Tournaire, who is probing claims of illegal funding of Sarkozy's election by the Libyan regime.

1 euro fifteen days

Read more with a subscription priced just 1€ Subscribe