Nicolas Sarkozy, the former French president, had his phone tapped for the last year by a senior judge investigating allegations that he used donations from Muammar Gaddafi for his 2007 election campaign, it has been claimed.
Judges started eavesdropping Mr Sarkozy’s calls in April 2013 as part of a formal investigation into claims he accepted up to €50 million in cash from the late Libyan dictator.
In the latest corruption allegations threatening to wreck his comeback hopes, judges have now opened an investigation into Mr Sarkozy for perverting the course of justice after tapped phone calls suggest he may have sought to influence a top judge.
Mr Sarkozy’s lawyer denies the claims and says the phone taps were illegal.
In the bugged phone conversations, Mr Sarkozy and his lawyer can reportedly be overheard discussing finding a sinecure for the senior judge in exchange for information on secret legal proceedings concerning the ex-president. . .