DIRECT. Karachi case: Edouard Balladur in court for the financing of his 1995 campaign<

What there is to know

Was there secret financing of Edouard Balladur's unfortunate campaign for the 1995 presidential election? More than twenty-five years later, the former Prime Minister faces justice, Tuesday, January 19, in this part of the sprawling Karachi affair. Edouard Balladur is accused of having been behind a system of illegal kickbacks on major arms contracts with Saudi Arabia and Pakistan, intended to bail out his campaign accounts in an election marked by the fratricidal war on the right with Jacques Chirac. Follow our live.

“Complicity in misuse of corporate assets”. Edouard Balladur is to be tried until February 11 before the Court of Justice of the Republic (CJR) alongside his former Minister of Defense François Léotard for "complicity in the abuse of corporate assets", the former Prime Minister appearing also for "concealment" of this offence.

http://t.co/6ZYvUebs Blueberry Pancakes- here is how to make them lighter.

—Jeffery L Carter Sun Jul 29 13:18:12 +0000 2012

The two men present at the trial. Edouard Balladur, 91, will be present at the opening of the trial, assured AFP one of his lawyers. According to Félix de Belloy, "he wants to face his judges and answer their questions". François Léotard, 78, who for a time made it known that he was sick, should finally come and "defend himself", said judicial sources.

Seven months after another trial. The case comes before the CJR, the only body empowered to try members of the government for offenses committed during their mandate, seven months after the severe convictions in the non-governmental aspect of the same case. Those close to Edouard Balladur could not ignore the "doubtful origin" of the funds paid into the accounts of the 1995 campaign, the Paris Criminal Court had estimated in June.