French Judges Question Ziad Takieddine in Beirut

A French judicial team on Thursday questioned Lebanese-French businessman Ziad Takieddine in Beirut in the case of the suspected Libyan financing of ex-French president Nicolas Sarkozy's 2007 election campaign.

Takieddine has been under house arrest in Lebanon since early December. The 70-year-old businessman fled to Beirut after a French court in June condemned him to five years in jail in a separate case involving millions of euros in kickbacks from arms sales to Pakistan and Saudi Arabia signed in 1994.

Lebanon’s National News Agency said the French team interrogated Takieddine on Thursday over the Sarkozy case.

The session was held at the Court of Cassation at Beirut’s Justice Palace in the presence of Attorney General Judge Imad Qabalan and Takieddine’s lawyer Sharif al-Husseini.

A French judicial source has recently said he was skeptical of the possibility of extradition to France.

"France and Lebanon have not concluded an extradition agreement and Lebanon does not extradite its nationals. The proceedings could very quickly end there," the source said.

Takieddine was once the main accuser in the inquiry into the Sarkozy case. He was investigated in late 2016 after he told the media he had delivered millions of euros in cash from Libyan strongman Moammar Gadhafi.

Sarkozy caught a break in November when Takieddine suddenly retracted his claim.

A Lebanese legal source who asked to remain anonymous has also said that Takieddine was being pursued in a number of financial cases in Lebanon, including on charges of slander, fraud and forgery.