Ex-French president Nicolas Sarkozy taken into police custody

Paris [France], March 21 (ANI): Former French president Nicolas Sarkozy on Tuesday was taken into police custody over allegations that he received millions of euros in illegal election campaign funding from late Libyan leader Col Muammar Gaddafi.

Sarkozy, 63, who was France's right-wing president from 2007 to 2012, was questioned by prosecutors specialising in corruption, money laundering and tax evasion at their office in the Parisian suburb of Nanterre.

He is said to have accepted €50m from Muammar Gaddafi's regime, claims which have been repeated by the late Libyan dictator's son and French businessman Ziad Takieddine, according to Sky News.

Sarkozy and his campaign manager have repeatedly denied accepting money from Libya.

According to Le Monde, this is the first time Sarkozy has been questioned in relation to this investigation, which was opened in April 2013.

He can be held for up to 48 hours and presented to a magistrates' court for indictment, if the police seek charges.

Sarkozy has already been ordered to stand trial in a separate case, concerning the financing of his 2012 re-election campaign, when he lost to Francois Hollande.

He attempted to stage a comeback for the 2017 election, but failed to convince the voters in his own party to support him and had to concede to Francois Fillon and Alain Juppe. (ANI)