Ces't magnifique! Ces't Mr. Chirac
Couldn't have happened to a nice politician.
From
The Scotsman:
Raid on spy's home 'reveals details of Chirac's secret £30m bank account'
Long-standing rumours that the former French president Jacques Chirac holds a secret multi-million-euro bank account in Japan appear to have been confirmed by files seized from the home of a senior spy.
Papers seized by two investigating magistrates from General Philippe Rondot, a former head of the DGSE, France's intelligence service, show Mr Chirac opened an account in the mid-1990s at Tokyo Sowa Bank, credited with the equivalent of £30 million. It is not known where the money came from, nor whether it is connected to various kick-back scandals to which Mr Chirac's name has been linked over the past decade.
Last year, Mr Chirac "categorically denied" having a bank account in Japan.
The seized documents have been described by the magistrates as "explosive" and are believed to contain copies of the former president's bank statements.
And while president, he was immune from prosecution, now he is not. But maybe he will pull a fast one:
Claims of Mr Chirac's secret nest egg first came to the attention of the French authorities in 1996 when his friend Shoichi Osada, a Japanese banker, decided to invest £500 million in France, so triggering a routine investigation by the DGSE, which is said to have stumbled upon the then president's Japanese account.
Thrown into a panic, Mr Chirac is said to have summoned Gen Rondot in 2001 and ordered him to destroy all DGSE evidence of the account. Unfortunately for the president, the spy simply removed the notes and memos about the affair to his home, where they were seized in March last year by Mr d'Huy and Mr Pons. Since then, the judges have been discreetly pursuing an investigation, interviewing 20 intelligence officers about the affair.
Mr Chirac is reported to have struck a deal with Mr Sarkozy, whereby the latter will push through judicial reforms ensuring the ex-president escapes prosecution. However, the magistrates are expected to move before the reforms are passed this summer.
Ever wonder where all of that Oil of Food money went to? And those French munitions that were found in Iraq.
Posted by DaveH at May 28, 2007 4:03 PM