Former French Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin was indicted
Friday for "complicity in a case involving false accusations" over
the infamous Clearstream scandal, according to one of his
lawyers.
The former prime minister Friday appeared before judges, who are
charged with handling investigations into the scandal, in which a
plot was hatched "to tarnish the names" of prominent French
politicians.
Speaking at the end of the hearing, Villepin said that "at no
moment" had he "ordered investigations into political
personalities," nor had he "participated in organizing such
apolitical maneuver."
In 2004, a "slanderer" sent anonymous letters containing a list
of prominent personalities, who were accused of operating dubious
accounts purportedly held at Luxembourg-based securities
clearinghouse Clearstream Luxembourg. Current French president
Nicolas Sarkozy, Dominique Strauss-Kahn who has been proposed as
new IMF chief, former ministers Alain Madelin and Jean-Pierre
Chevenement were some of the senior politicians mentioned in the
letters.
Preliminary investigations into the claims revealed that it was
a smear campaign and investigations were launched into the "smear
campaign," at the request of some of those who were mentioned in
the letters.
In June 2006, Jean-Louis Gregorian, a former vice-president with
the EADS group, was indicted in connection with the scandal and
acknowledged having sent the anonymous letters. In December 2006,
Villepin appeared before the judges handling the Clearstream
scandal as a witness and subsequently denied any wrongdoing.
In June 2007, Philippe Rondot, former senior French intelligence
officer, who had led investigations into the matter unearthed new
evidence in the form of notes showing that De Villepin had
"instructed" Gregorian to send the anonymous letters to law
enforcement agencies.
Questioned once again over the anonymous letters, Gergorinac
knowledged that he had received instructions from the former prime
minister but added that Villepin had, at the time, believed in the
authenticity of the accusations.
In July 2007, the judges handling investigations into the
scandal ordered Villepin's offices to be searched in connection
with the matter.
(Xinhua News Agency July 28, 2007)
