Suspicion of witness bribery: Justice investigates Carla Bruni over Libya affair

In the affair surrounding alleged campaign funds from Libya for France’s former President Nicolas Sarkozy, the French judiciary has launched an investigation against his wife Carla Bruni. The singer and former First Lady of France has also been placed under judicial supervision, French media reported unanimously, citing the judiciary. As the Financial Prosecutor’s Office had previously announced, the investigation against the 56-year-old is about possible witness manipulation.

The Libya affair revolves around evidence that Sarkozy’s 2007 presidential campaign received illegal money from the regime of the then Libyan ruler Muammar al-Gaddafi. In 2016, the French-Lebanese businessman Ziad Takieddine said that in late 2006 or early 2007 he brought several suitcases containing millions of euros – prepared by the Libyan regime – to the Paris Interior Ministry, which was then headed by Sarkozy. He was initially considered the main witness for the prosecution. However, in an interview he later said that Sarkozy had not received any Libyan money for the election campaign. Later, Takieddine said that the statement had been falsified.

Was the main prosecution witness bribed?

Against this background, the French judiciary opened another investigation into the Libya affair in 2021 to determine whether the main witness for the prosecution was bribed to change his testimony. The judiciary suspects that Takieddine was offered money to do so by people close to the ex-president. The judiciary suspects that Bruni’s role may have been to bring those involved into contact with each other. The investigation that has now been initiated may ultimately lead to criminal proceedings if the investigators see sufficient evidence against Bruni. Otherwise, they can also discontinue the proceedings.

The conservative politician Sarkozy, who was French president from 2007 to 2012, has been battling with the judiciary for years over various allegations.