Karachi case: Édouard Balladur and François Léotard soon fixed on their fate
Édouard Balladur (our illustration photo) is suspected of having partly financed his ill-fated 1995 presidential campaign "via" illegal retrocommissions.
AFP
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3 min
Did the former French Prime Minister Édouard Balladur finance his 1995 presidential campaign with hidden funds?
Judged in a case more than 25 years old - the financial aspect of the Karachi affair - Édouard Balladur, 91 years old today, and his former Minister of Defense, François Léotard, 78 years old, will soon be fixed on their fate .
The Court of Justice of the Republic, the only one empowered to try ministers for offenses committed in the exercise of their functions, must deliver its judgment this Thursday, March 4 in the morning.
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In this case, Édouard Balladur is suspected of having partly financed his unfortunate presidential campaign of 1995
via
illegal retrocommissions affected on the sidelines of major arms contracts with Saudi Arabia and Pakistan.
For the prosecution, the former tenant of Matignon and his Minister of Defense at the time, François Léotard, imposed - while the contracts were almost finalized - a network of "
useless
"
intermediaries
who granted themselves "
Pharaonic commissions
”, part of which was ultimately used to replenish the campaign accounts of Édouard Balladur.
Cash deposit without proof
At the heart of the accusation, a deposit in cash and without proof of 10 million francs.
The former Prime Minister, who told the audience "to
have a perfectly clear conscience
", has always explained this amount by donations and the sale of campaign gagdets.
But for the prosecutor, Édouard Balladur "
could not ignore the fraudulent origin of these funds
".
"
Denial strategies
"
He demanded against him a year of suspended sentence and 50,000 euros fine and the double, two years suspended and 100,000 euros fine against François Léotard, "
much more involved
", according to him, in the fraudulent assembly.
While underlining "
the seriousness of the facts
" and the "
strategies of denial and avoidance of the defendants
", the prosecutor ordered the Court to take into account the seniority of the case and the age of the defendants.
Defendants whose lawyers have pleaded for release, denouncing a case based on "
rumors
" and "
delusional theories
".
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To read also:
Karachi case: Balladur right in his boots in front of the judges
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Justice
France
Criminality
Edouard Balladur
On the same subject
Karachi case: Balladur and Léotard before the Court of Justice of the Republic
Karachi case: on the first day of his trial, Édouard Balladur refuses to speak
Karachi case: before the court Balladur denounces a file based on "rumors"