'Karachi Affair' Suspect Detained in France for 'Escape Bid'
إقرأ هذا الخبر بالعربية
Police on Thursday detained a Franco-Lebanese businessman who is being probed in a high-profile political financing scandal over suspicions he was trying to flee France, a source close to the case said.
Ziad Takieddine, who is banned from leaving France as investigations into the so-called Karachi affair go on, allegedly paid 200,000 euros ($260,000) for a diplomatic passport from the Dominican Republic, the source said.
The businessman is embroiled in several scandals in France, some of which allegedly involve former President Nicolas Sarkozy and other high-profile politicians.
He has claimed he has proof Sarkozy received illicit funding from Libya's ex-dictator Moamer Kadhafi for his successful 2007 presidential campaign, and an official probe into the allegation has been opened.
Takieddine is also being investigated for suspected money laundering after he was detained with 1.5 million euros in cash on a private flight out of Libya in March 2011, French judicial sources said late last year.
And he has been charged with corruption in a case centred on commissions he allegedly received in 1994 arms deals that could have been used illegally in ex-prime minister Edouard Balladur's presidential campaign the next year.
The so-called Karachi affair has also embroiled Sarkozy, who was Balladur's campaign spokesman and budget minister at the time.
Dominique Penin, one of Takieddine's lawyers, refused to comment when contacted by Agence France Presse.
30 May 2013, 21:39
01
It took five hours to finally notice my BS and you're the first one! Of course he's Druze. But the Druze are good behaving people,I had to convert him against his will. Haha
Thanks for noticing Banima3roof. I feel reassured that some people still use their brains on naharnet.
30 May 2013, 15:57
03
There's no such thing as «human race». There are humans, nothing else. That's why I had pinpoint another detail of this man. He's Shiite. Am I lying? This Shiite was Sarkozy's (a Jew) ally in theft. He Helped him steal $400.000.000 from Qatar with Gaddhafi's hostages.
Another proof that Shiites and Jews are natural allies.... Hehehe
30 May 2013, 16:51
00
You are either an illeterate Mr Benzona or a manipulator, liar. No he is not a SHIITE, he is a DRUZE, like all the Takieddine, Go and get nore information before giving your idiot opinion. So may be the Druze are friends with the Jews, Mr ANALYST Benzona
30 May 2013, 20:40
00
Whether you believe there is a human race or not doesn't matter. Your comment shows that you are a very mediocre person. Period.
