Former French Interior Minister Claude Gueant was yesterday placed under formal criminal investigation . Former French Interior Minister Claude Gueant was yesterday placed under formal criminal investigation over cash he allegedly received from Colonel Gaddafi. It is all part of a wider corruption enquiry into claims that Gueant's former boss, Nicolas Sarkozy, received millions from the late Libyan dictator. Gueant, 70, was Sarkozy's chief of staff during the 2007 election campaign which saw Sarkozy become French president. The central allegation is that Muammar Gaddafi directly funded the campaign, in return for Sarkozy's support. Both Sarkozy and Gueant deny the claims, but Paris judicial sources confirmed Gueant 'was being interviewed about the allegations from 6.45am today'. He faces a long criminal investigation which could end up in a court trial and prison sentence. Investigators were particularly interested in how Gueant could have sold two paintings by an obscure Flemish Baroque master for the record price of Euro 500,000 (£423,000). Gueant insists that the cash payment was a good price for Andries van Eertvelt 17th Century paintings of boats in a storm. Gueant said: 'I made the deal under personal circumstances, but I'm not an art investor' saying he sold them in 2008 to an unidentified Malaysian lawyer. But art experts say the paintings were not worth anything like that amount, and there are suspicions that the cash in fact came from Gaddafi. Sarkozy, who only completed one term as president before losing the 2012 election to Francois Hollande, has been dogged by corruption allegations related to Gaddafi. A document made public in Paris in 2012 is said to show that the pair sealed an illegal financial deal that propelled Sarkozy to power in 2007. Written in Arabic and signed by Mussa Kussa, Gaddafi's intelligence chief, in 2006, it refers to an 'agreement in principle to support the campaign for the candidate for the presidential elections, Nicolas Sarkozy, for a sum equivalent to Euro 50million'. Claude Gueant and Nicolas Sarkozy are accused of accepting cash from Colonel Gaddafi (above) to fund their 2007 election campaign . France's current Interior Minister, Bernard Cazeneuve, said at the time: 'Faced with such serious allegations, backed up by documents sourced from the Libyan dictator's own entourage, Nicolas Sarkozy must explain himself to the French people. 'Several times in recent weeks, specific information has been published by the press relating to France's relationship with Colonel Muammar Gaddafi's regime.' A governmental briefing note among papers sent to the investigative news site Mediapart points to numerous visits to Libya by Sarkozy and his colleagues which were aimed at securing funding. One, said to have taken place on October 6, 2005, led to 'campaign finance to NS' being 'all paid' - assumed to be a reference to Sarkozy. At the time, Sarkozy was an ambitious interior minister who was raising money for his presidential election campaign, even though taking cash from a notorious tyrant would have broken political financing laws. Sarkozy, who only completed one term as president before losing the 2012 election to Francois Hollande, has been dogged by corruption allegations related to Gaddafi . As France's head of state, Sarkozy could not be prosecuted while in office, but within days of him losing the election, the Paris home he shares with his third wife, the former supermodel Carla Bruni, was raided by anti-corruption police. Sarkozy turned on his friend Gaddafi at the beginning of the Arab Spring in 2011. French jets were the first to attack Gaddafi's tanks in a military campaign which ended with the Libyan leader being murdered. Sarkozy is now back as president of the opposition UMP party in France, and insists he is innocent of any wrong doing and can stand again for the presidency in 2017.
Claude Gueant, 70, placed under formal criminal investigation yesterday . Gueant was Sarkozy's chief of staff during the 2007 election campaign . Allegation is Gaddafi directly funded campaign to get Sarkozy's support . Both Sarkozy and Gueant deny the corruption claims .