Sarkozy/ L’Oreal corruption case dropped
Back in March, a public prosecutor revealed that Sarkozy had been placed under formal investigation for "abuse of weakness" after magistrates suspected him to have taken advantage of Bettencourt, who had been declared to be in a state of dementia in 2006.
Then, Sarkozy repeatedly denied the allegations, whilst his lawyer Thierry Herzog came out to state that the case was "incoherent and unjust" and that he would be appealing.
Various litigation experts at the time reported that if the former president was indeed found guilty, the 57-year-old would be have been facing a maximum three-year jail sentence and a hefty fine, not to mention an irreversible dent to his political career.
Takes to social media platform to declare innocence
Following the magistrates announcement on Monday, the former French President took to his Facebook page to declare that he had been found “innocent,” before listing various drills he had been subjected to by investigators, including 22 hours of questioning.
He wrote; “So, this was the price to pay so that the truth could finally be established." Then focusing in on fellow politicians who had made comment during the investigation, he wrote; "One never wins in slandering. All one does is debase democracy.”
The end of a lengthy investigation
Cosmetics Design has been covering the case as far back as 2011 when a judge who investigated donations by the L’Oreal heiress to fund Sarkozy’s 2007 presidential campaign claimed that personal donations did in fact exchange hands.
The revelation re-opened the case that had already rocked French politics and the reputation of the L’Oreal name for a year previous, triggered by a legal challenge from Bettencourt’s daughter over whether or not she was capable of managing her day-to-day business affairs.
By November 2012, we reported Sarkozy to be appearing before a judge who had designated him an 'assisted witness', that appearance was the first time he had officially been summonded on the matter since losing the presidency and legal immunity in May 2012, and police searching his home and office in July of that year.
