London: French President Nicolas Sarkozy’s campaign spokesperson has denied allegations that he accepted GBP 42 million from slain Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi for his 2007 election campaign.
Spokesperson Nathalie Kosciusko-Morizet dismissed the report as ‘ridiculous’ and a ‘clumsy diversion’ orchestrated by supporters of socialist opponent Francois Hollande.
According to Aljazeera, Sarkozy strongly denied these allegations when first questioned about it by French journalists in March.
A document made public in Paris reportedly showed that Sarkozy and Gaddafi made an illegal financial deal that propelled the former to power in 2007.
A news website claimed that that the massive donation was laundered through bank accounts in Panama and Switzerland.
Written in Arabic and signed by Mussa Kussa, Gaddafi`s intelligence chief in 2006, it refers to an ``agreement in principle to support the campaign for the candidate for the Presidential Elections, Nicolas Sarkozy, for a sum equivalent to EUR 50 million”.
Under the French law, presidential candidates are not allowed to receive cash payments above GBP 6,300.
Sarkozy is facing huge pressure to explain himself in the light of what his opponents called ``compelling evidence``.
ANI
