PARIS, July 02. /ITAR-TASS/. Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy has been placed under formal investigation over alleged influence peddling, Agence France-Presse reported.

Sarkozy allegedly used his influence to get classified information on an investigation into funding irregularities in 2007 election campaign, which was also in the center of another investigation into the allegations that Liliane Betterncourt, L’Oreal heiress and the richest woman in France, provided financing for the campaign.

Sarkozy’s lawyer, Thierry Herzog, was also placed under formal investigation over the same allegations. The former president allegedly promised one of the magistrates in France’s top court, the Cour de Cassation, a high-profile job in Monaco in exchange for insider information on the investigation into the Bettencourt affair.