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France

Trial begins for former Sarkozy aides in cash bonus case

The trial of former Nicolas Sarkozy aides Claude Gueant and Michel Gaudin, as well as three other senior French officials, opened Monday in Paris as they face charges of embezzlement and concealment.

Claude Guéant
Claude Guéant Reuters
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The case concerns cash bonuses paid illegally to members of Sarkozy’s cabinet while he was interior minister, between 2002 and 2004.

Gueant, a former French interior minister and a key ally of the former French president, is accused of collecting the highest amount, 10,000 euros per month, while he was chief of staff. Gaudin, a former Paris police chief who has also worked in Sarkozy's private office, allegedly facilitated those payments.

Three other cabinet ministers   Daniel Canepa, Michel Camux and Gérard Moisselin   were also to appear in court on charges of concealment.

Gueant has been charged with tax evasion and forgery in a case linked to allegations that Moamer Kadhafi’s Libya financed Sarkozy’s 2007 presidential election campaign.

The accusations arose from a raid in February 2013 when investigators found a 500,000-euro transfer into Gueant’s bank account.

Suspicions about Sarkozy’s 2007 campaign funding surfaced during the 2012 campaign when the Mediapart website published a 2006 document purporting to show arrangements for 50-million-euros-worth of Libyan money to be funnelled into the campaign.

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