Businessman bribed Sarkozy official to secure lucrative Libyan aircraft deal, court is told
A businessman wanted in France over claims the Qaddafi family bankrolled Nicolas Sarkozy, bribed one of the former president’s officials to secure a commission on a Libyan aircraft deal, a London court heard.
Alexandre Djouhri, 59, sold a villa in the south of France for an inflated price and funnelled some of the money into an account held by Claude Gueant, Mr Sarkozy’s former chief of staff, and his wife, authorities claim.
French investigators believe the €500,000 (Dh2.08 million) payment came from a state-run Libyan fund that bought the villa in 2008 to turn it into a medical centre for retired African leaders, said Ben Watson, a lawyer for the government.
France launched an inquiry four years later into reports that the Qaddafi family paid $50m (Dh183.7m) to help Mr Sarkozy’s successful 2007 presidential election campaign, in breach of the country’s election laws.
Mr Djouhri, described in court as a go-between for the French leadership and the Qaddafi regime, is wanted for fraud, money laundering and bribery in connection with the villa sale.
The French-Algerian businessman was arrested at London’s Heathrow Airport in January last year on a French arrest warrant.
He had been living in Geneva, out of reach of French investigators and declined to speak with investigators, the court heard.
Details of the payments emerged at the start of a threeday extradition hearing, delayed after the political fixer collapsed in a British prison with serious heart problems and required emergency treatment.
Mr Djouhri is fighting extradition, claiming that the case against him is politically motivated because of his association with Mr Sarkozy.
The former president was one of the leading advocates of a Nato-led military campaign that resulted in the overthrow and death of Muammar Qaddafi in 2011.
Mr Sarkozy has said claims of illegal Libyan funds to his campaign were made in revenge for his backing for the rebels, and led to the failure of his 2012 re-election bid.
Mr Djouhri rose to prominence after acting as a peacemaker between Qaddafi and the rebels attacking the regime’s hold on Tripoli.
“It’s a fake arrest,” Mr Djouhri told The National before the start of yesterday’s hearing. “It’s harassment.”
He allegedly paid the money to Mr Gueant ensure he received a commission on the sale of Airbus aircraft to state-owned Libyan airline Afriqiyah Airways, Mr Watson said.
He also wanted to ensure that he avoided tax liabilities from the villa sale, the lawyer claimed.
Mr Watson said there was no direct evidence linking the proceeds from the villa sale to the election-funding scandal.
French investigators say that Mr Gueant later falsely claimed that the money came from the sale of two paintings.
Days after receiving the payment, the money was used to buy an apartment in Paris.
Mr Watson told the hearing in London that the villa was valued in 1998 at about €760,000, but was sold a decade later to the Libyan African Investment Portfolio for more than €10m.
Mr Djouhri’s legal team says he is not well enough to stand trial and claim the judiciary has unfairly focused on Mr Sarkozy and his allies. The hearing continues.