Libyan kickbacks investigation leads to Geneva
The Geneva home of a French businessman was raided last week in connection with a French investigation into alleged Libyan funding of the 2007 election campaign of former French president Nicolas Sarkozy.
The raids took place at the request of the French authorities who are investigating the payment of inflated commissions in various financial deals, including Libyan ones, said a spokesperson for the Geneva justice authorities on Tuesday, confirming information published in the Le Temps newspaper.
Le Temps, which gleaned the information from the forthcoming issue of French weekly magazine Charlie Hebdo, revealed that the French businessman was an intermediary or facilitator during the conclusion of large export contracts with French firms.
According to the daily, the Geneva home of a French-Yemeni banker who works for Credit Agricole was also raided in connection with the investigation.
In 2012, a French investigative website, Mediapart, published notes from a document which it said suggested that Sarkozy had been paid €50 million (CHF52.2 million) following a visit to Libya in 2005 when he was interior minister. The former French president has always denied receiving funds from Libya.
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