PARIS: A French judge on Tuesday questioned singer and model Carla Bruni-Sarkozy in connection with an investigation into the alleged Libyan funding of her husband Nicolas Sarkozy’s presidential campaign in 2007, in which she could be charged.
According to four sources familiar with the matter Bruni was brought before a Paris magistrate investigating the case at 10:00 am (0800 GMT).
Her questioning is likely to continue into Wednesday before the judge finds out whether she will be charged.
According to one source close to the case, the 56-year-old singer is suspected of concealment of some important facts and involvement in an attempt to bribe Lebanese judicial personnel.
Sarkozy, 69, was charged in October 2023 with illegal witness tampering, as part of an inquiry into whether he took money from late Libyan dictator Muammar Qaddafi to finance his 2007 election campaign.
Investigators suspect that several people, some very close to Sarkozy, were involved in paying a key witness in that case to change a statement he made incriminating the former president.
Bruni-Sarkozy could be charged or given the status of assisted witness, which according to the French legal system falls short of being formally charged.
She has already been twice questioned by investigation teams, first as a witness in June 2023, and then as a suspect in May.
An investigation revealed that Bruni-Sarkozy deleted all messages exchanged with French paparazzi queen Michele Marchand on the day she was charged with witness tampering in June 2021.
Sarkozy is set to stand trial in 2025 over the accusations that he conspired to take funds from the Libyan leader to illegally fiancé his subsequently victorious 2007 bid to become the president of France.
