Baku-APA. Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy was placed under formal investigation on Wednesday on suspicions he tried to use his influence to thwart an investigation of his 2007 election campaign, the prosecutor's office said, APA reports quoting Reuters.
The step, which often but not always leads to trial, is a major setback to Sarkozy's hopes of a comeback after his 2012 defeat by Socialist rival Francois Hollande.
The conservative politician denies wrongdoing in a string of investigations where his direct or indirect implication has cast doubt on his viability as a candidate in the 2017 elections.
He is due to give a television interview at 1800 GMT.
Magistrates are looking at whether Sarkozy used his influence to secure leaked details of a inquiry into alleged irregularities in his victorious 2007 campaign. He is suspected of influence-peddling, corrupting officials, and benefiting from breach of professional secrets, the prosecutor's office said.
The first former president to spend time in police custody, Sarkozy, 59, was detained for 15 hours on Tuesday before being transferred to appear before investigating magistrates who will run the inquiry. He was then released without bail.
Sarkozy "has gone through other ordeals of this nature, he has always known how to fight," said Paul-Albert Iweins, the attorney for Sarkozy's own attorney, Thierry Herzog, who is also being investigated for influence-peddling along with a judge involved in the affair.
Iweins said the inquiry was weak as it relied on legally questionable phone taps of conversations between Sarkozy and Herzog as well as between Herzog and the president of the French Bar.
Sarkozy's allies cast doubts over the impartiality of one of the investigating magistrates, with Christian Estrosi, the mayor of Nice, telling France Info state radio that Hollande's government had whipped up "an atmosphere of hate".
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