Former French Prime Minister Édouard Balladur is reportedly responsible in a corruption case in connection with arms sales in court. It is about possible aid for embezzlement and embezzlement. This was announced by the Attorney General in Paris.
The 90-year-old Balladur rejects the allegations. The judiciary also ordered a lawsuit against former Defense Minister François Léotard.
The "Karachi Affair"
The then Prime Minister Balladur wanted in 1995 by the French Conservatives as a presidential candidate against the recently deceased Jacques Chirac set up. For his campaign black money was flowing, which related to the sale of submarines to Pakistan and warships to Saudi Arabia.
The so-called "Karachi Affair" was first publicized in 2002 following an attack in Pakistan. The attack killed 15 people. He was French engineers involved in the construction of submarines for Pakistan.
Since 2009, the investigators are suspected that the attack was a kind of act of revenge for lack of bribes. Chirac had stopped the funds in 1996 after his election as president. Part of the funds should have been previously diverted for Balladur ultimately unsuccessful campaign.
Ex-president Sarkozy also comes under legal pressure
The former French President Nicolas Sarkozy may also face legal consequences. In the so-called Bygmalion affair threaten the 64-year-old a year in prison and a fine of 3750 euros. It concerns the accusation of the illegal financing of its presidential election campaign 2012. At that time Sarkozy applied after a first term from 2007 for his re-election.
According to findings of the investigators, the conservative head of state exceeded the allowable budget ceiling of 22.5 million euros for the campaign costs significantly. His conservative party is said to have tried to conceal this through a system of false accounts in the millions.
The affair is named after the event company Bygmalion. This presented Sarkozy's party UMP - which is now called Les Républicains (The Republicans) - bills in the amount of 18.5 million euros for campaign appearances.
Sarkozy did not help in the end: he lost the election in 2012 against the socialist François Hollande. A year later, the Constitutional Council Sarkozy committed to repay more than 360,000 euros.