New testimony from Claude Guéant in the Libyan financing case of Nicolas Sarkozy

Appeal proceedings regarding the alleged Libyan financing sections of Nicolas Sarkozy’s 2007 presidential campaign have taken a new twist. After sending an initial letter to the Paris Court of Appeal, Claude Guéant, former director of cabinet turned secretary general of the Elysée and later minister, definitively breaks ties with Sarkozy. Dated Sunday, April 26, this letter questions the former president’s statements.

“Nicolas Sarkozy is mistaken,” claims Guéant, who was absent from the appeal trial due to health reasons. He wanted to address the April 14 hearing where, according to him, several incorrect statements were made by Sarkozy.

“I protest against his denial”

Guéant continues by discussing the events of July 25, 2007. “Nicolas Sarkozy also expressly denies calling me to his dinner table in Tripoli to hear Mouammar Kadhafi reiterate his concerns about the international arrest warrant against his brother-in-law [Abdallah] Senoussi,” he writes, adding, “I am sorry to say that, once again, Nicolas Sarkozy is mistaken. I protest against his denial.”

Guéant confirms his earlier statements and asserts that he does not confuse the years 2007 and 2005 as implied by Sarkozy. He maintains that Sarkozy called him to hear Kadhafi’s concerns about lifting Senoussi’s arrest warrant.

In the same letter, Guéant explains discussing Abdallah Senoussi’s situation and leaving the matter unresolved, suggesting that presenting himself to the French justice system to seek a trial revision was the only solution.

New interrogations this Wednesday

Guéant’s new statement could be central to the upcoming interrogations of Nicolas Sarkozy and Brice Hortefeux scheduled for Wednesday, April 29. The final hearing is set for Wednesday, June 3.

Nicolas Sarkozy is charged with “illegal campaign financing,” “concealment of misappropriation of public funds,” “passive corruption,” and “criminal association.”

He is accused of making a corruption pact with Kadhafi to finance his successful 2007 campaign in exchange for diplomatic favors and attempts to lift a French arrest warrant against Libyan intelligence chief, Abdallah Senoussi.

What is Claude Guéant accused of?

The former secretary general of the Elysée is accused of being an intermediary to secure Libyan funds through businessman networks of Ziad Takieddine and Alexandre Djouhri. In 2008, after the presidential elections, he allegedly received a €500,000 transfer believed to be from the sale of two paintings to a Malaysian lawyer also implicated in the case.