Ziad Takieddine, a French businessman of Lebanese origin, claims that he not only met with former French president Nicolas Sarkozy after 2004, but also helped to transfer money from Libya for his election campaign, cites the French news portal France Info.
"He was there, and I met him, I even greeted him, he took the suitcase, he put it aside, he did not even want to count [the money]," Ziad Takieddine said.
READ MORE: Guilt Trip: Was Intervention in Libya Sarkozy's Bid to Hide Campaign Funding?
According to him, he met Sarkozy twice in his apartment at Ministry of the Interior in Paris and twice in Libya, with Claude Guéant, Sarkozy's chief of staff, being present at the second meeting. It is notable that both Sarkozy and Guéant refute any allegations of the former president meeting with the French businessman after 2004.
READ MORE: Sarkozy Under Judicial Supervision, Banned From Visiting Libya — Reports
France's ex-president Nicolas Sarkozy is currently facing charges on accounts of passive bribery, illegal financing election campaign and concealment of Libyan public funds. The prosecution believes Sarkozy received 50 million euros from former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi ahead of the country's presidential elections in 2007. Sarkozy denies all the accusations being leveled against him.
