A media report said French President Nicolas Sarkozy allegedly received nearly 42 million pounds from former Libyan dictator Colonel Muammar Gaddafi during his election campaign in 2007. An Arabic written document signed in 2006 by Mussa Kussa, Gaddafi's former intelligence chief, made public in Paris.

The document refers to an "agreement in principle to support the campaign for Nicolas Sarkozy, the candidate for the presidential elections. President Sarkozy's campaign spokesperson Nathalie Kosciusko-Morizet has dismissed the report as ridiculous a clumsy diversion orchestrated by supporters of socialist opponent Francois Hollande.

French law bans candidates from receiving cash payments above 6,300 pounds, but local news website Mediapart claims that the massive donation was laundered through bank accounts in Panama and Switzerland.