Former French Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin arrested over embezzlement case
By
Peter Allen|
In custody: Ex-PM Dominique de Villepin has been arrested in connection with a corruption case
The 58-year-old has been implicated in a fraud enquiry centred on the prestigious Relais & Chateaux (R&C) hotel and restaurant club.
Regis Bulot, a former senior manager at R&C, spent seven months in prison this year while waiting trial over the alleged theft of 1 million pounds through over-charging for the club’s guidebooks, which are available all over Britain.
De Villepin, who made his name in the UK by making a passionate speech to the United Nations opposing the Anglo-American invasion of Iraq in 2003, is a close personal friend of Bulot, 64.
Now transcripts of telephone conversations have emerged from late 2011 which are said to prove De Villepin tried to stop R&C’s new management from proceeding with court action against Bulot.
There are also suspicions that some of the money siphoned away from R&C may have been used to fund De Villepin’s political career.
The two men are close friends and their families have often holidayed together in R&C hotels all over the world.
Bulot had other high-profile supporters in his legal battle.
Alain Ducasse, the multi-starred superchef, was overheard telling Mr Bulot: ‘You must quickly cut the head off your successor’ in another call recorded by investigators.
Bulot has admitted to benefiting from illegal cash payments but denies involvement in any illicit political financing.
Chain in chains: Relais & Chateaux own
luxury resorts all over the world, inculcating the Xara Palace on the
island of Malta, and is now at the centre of the fraud scandal involving
de Villepin
De Villepin admits going to see the new R&C management about his friend, but insists it was at their invitation.
‘I have strictly nothing to feel bad about,’ he said before his arrest. ‘To try and implicate me in a story in which I have nothing do with is unbearable.’
The scandal follows former president Jacques Chirac receiving a suspended prison sentence for fraud last year.
Nicolas Sarkozy, Chirac’s successor, is also facing allegations that he received illegal cash payments from Lilliane Bettencourt, France’s richest women.
Both Chirac and Sarkozy were once close cabinet allies of De Villepin, a fellow conservative, but they have since all fallen out.
Police confirmed that Mr De Villepin was being questioned at a station in central Paris following a request by judges sitting in Strasbourg, eastern France. He can be held for up to 48 hours before being charged or released. Ends
