ASTANA. Dec 5 (Interfax) - Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev said he was unaware of the French anticorruption inquiry into the delivery of Eurocopter helicopters to Kazakhstan.
"Neither Kazakhstan nor I know about any criminal inquiries. If there are any we would like to know their technicalities and give our answer to the French law enforcement authorities. So far we have nothing, no reports," Nazarbayev said at a press conference in Astana on Friday. French President Francois Hollande was the other speaker at the press conference.
"I only know that we are cooperating in the assembly of Eurocopter helicopters in Kazakhstan. We need this very much. They [the helicopters] are working for our aviation, agriculture and the Emergency Situations Ministry. We wish to carry on this cooperation even in building military helicopters," the president said.
The Paris newspaper Le Monde reported in October 2014 that several associates of former French President Nicolas Sarkozy had been accused of embezzling large sums of money in the conclusion of a contract for the delivery of French helicopters to Kazakhstan.
The newspaper identified the suspects as former Sarkozy advisor Jean-Francois Etienne des Rosaies, and Nathalie Gonzalez-Prado, who used to occupy a senior position in the Elysee Palace.
The investigation centers on the delivery of Eurocopter helicopters to Kazakhstan. The contract was signed in 2010, during Sarkozy's presidency.
According to the newspaper, the police suspect the defendants of being paid a kickback in a helicopter deal. The investigation started in 2012 and in September des Rosaies and Gonzalez-Prado were taken into custody, Le Monde said.