Paris
Dominique de Villepin, a former French prime minister, is under investigation for allegedly mounting a smear campaign to discredit one-time rival Nicolas Sarkozy, now the president of France. The case dates from 2004, when rumors arose that Sarkozy, then interior minister, had taken bribes for arranging the sale of ships to Taiwan. Sarkozy and other prominent figures were falsely accused of laundering bribe money through accounts in Luxembourg’s Clearwater clearing house. De Villepin, expected to be formally charged later this month, denies any involvement in the smear. Former President Jacques Chirac, who has also been implicated in the affair, has refused to answer questions on the subject, invoking his presidential immunity.
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