French ex-president in court over financial scandal

Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy has arrived at court for a hearing over a financial scandal during his 2012 presidential campaign finances.

The hearing, which is investigating false accounting during Sarkozy’s failed election campaign that allowed the former leader to exceed spending limits, opened in the capital, Paris, on Tuesday.

It is not known whether Sarkozy will be charged during the hearing.

The scandal involves public relations firm Bygmalion, which coordinated some of the former president’s campaign affairs. The company is accused of being responsible for a vast system of false accounting.

While campaign spending limits had been fixed at 22.5 million euros ($25 million), Bygmalion is accused of charging some 18.5 million euros ($20.6 million) to Sarkozy’s party — at the time known as UMP and currently called the Republicans — instead of charging it to the campaign.

The former leader has denied any knowledge of the false accounting. Although a number of Bygmalion’s employees, including the company’s accountant, have admitted to the fraud, the firm has not hinted at Sarkozy’s knowledge of the fraud.

However, investigations have found that Sarkozy had requested more campaign events in March 2012, about two months before the election. His campaign director, Guillaume Lambert, claims he warned Sarkozy of the risk of breaching financing limits.

Sarkozy was president from 2007 to 2012 when he lost to current French President Francois Hollande. He has since returned to lead the Republicans and is said to be preparing to run in the presidential race in 2017.

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