Sarkozy in police custody over 'alleged' campaign financing by Gaddafi

Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy was on Tuesday in police custody for questioning over allegations that he received campaign funding from the late Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi.

Sarkozy, 63, was summoned to a police station in Nanterre and was being questioned in relation to "irregularities" over the financing of his 2007 presidential campaign that swept him to power for a single five-year term, Le Monde daily reported citing court sources.

An inquiry was opened in April 2013 into allegations that Sarkozy's campaign had benefited from illicit funds from Gaddafi but it is the first time that he is being questioned over the matter. He has denied wrongdoing.

The development came several weeks after a former associate, Alexandre Djouhri, was arrested in London and later released on bail. One of Sarkozy's former ministers and a close ally, Brice Hortefeux, was also being questioned on Tuesday, the BBC reported.