Former French president Nicolas Sarkozy (Photo: AP)

Paris (People’s Daily) - Nicolas Sarkozy, the former French president, was held in police custody on Tuesday morning as part of an investigation into suspicions of financing by Libya of his 2007 presidential campaign.

Sarkozy was taken by the police of the Central Office of the Fight against Corruption and Financial and Tax Offenses in Nanterre, France-based le Monde reported.

This is the first time that the right-wing former president has been summoned, since the opening of a judicial inquiry into the case in 2013. His custody can last up to 48 hours, after which he would then be presented to the three magistrates in charge of the investigation, who could decide on an indictment, said the report.

In 2016, Ziad Takieddine, a Lebanese-French businessman, claimed to transport 5 million euros in cash from Tripoli to Paris between the end of 2006 and the beginning of 2007 before handing over the money to Claude Guéant, the then-minister of the interior.

It is reported that Sarkozy has always denied the accusations of illicit financing in his 2007 campaign.