Former First Lady charged with graft

France's former First Lady, Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, has been charged over an election funding scandal dating back to 2007 involving cash from the then Libyan dictator, Colonel Muammar Gaddafi. A BBC News report notes that, according to French media, Bruni-Sarkozy was charged with hiding evidence and associating with wrongdoers to commit fraud. She was placed under judicial control and barred from being in contact with all those accused except her husband, Nicolas Sarkozy. Bruni-Sarkozy is also suspected of concealment of witness tampering and involvement in an attempt to bribe Lebanese judicial personnel, among other violations. Sarkozy, who was the President of France from 2007 to 2012, is due to go on trial next year over allegations he took money from Gaddafi to finance his successful election bid. He is accused of corruption, illegal campaign financing, benefiting from embezzled public funds and membership in a criminal conspiracy. He has always denied all the charges. He and Bruni-Sarkozy, an Italian-born former supermodel and singer, married in 2008. They had a daughter, Giulia, in 2011.