SYLVIE CORBET
PARIS (AP) — France has launched an investigation into suspected kickbacks over deals worth 2 billion euro ($2.5 billion), signed between the French and Kazakh governments when Nicolas Sarkozy was president.
Le Monde newspaper reported Tuesday that a formal investigation on suspicion of money laundering was opened in March 2013. This was confirmed to The Associated Press by a Paris judge, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly about the matter.
Preliminary charges of corruption and money-laundering were filed last month against three people, including the lawyer of one of Sarkozy’s aides at the time, the judge said. Several deals — including the sale of 45 helicopters by French group Eurocopter — were signed during a Paris visit by Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev in October 2010.
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