According to media reports, former French President Nicolas Sarkozy has been charged with corruption and influence peddling. The decision to charge him came after Sarkozy was questioned for 15 hours over suspicions that he received leaked details of an inquiry into alleged irregularities in his 2007 election campaign.

Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy, seen here on Tuesday morning as he headed for questioning by investigators.

The questioning relates to suspicions the former president used his influence to get information on a separate investigation into funding irregularities in his victorious election campaign in 2007.

Among the accusations against Sarkozy is that in 2007 his presidential campaign received up to 50 million euros, or about 68 million U.S .dollars, in illegal funds from late Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi.

The investigation has also focused on a judge from France’s High Court of Appeal-Gilbert Azibert. Investigators are trying to find out whether Mr. Azibert was asked to provide information in return for a prestige post in Monaco.

Azibert was detained on Monday. Another judge was also questioned, as was Sarkozy’s lawyer.

"On the exchanges taking place, I have nothing to say. But I have much to say about the way in which the arrest took place. I think they could have served notice to Mr. Azibert. After all, this is a high court judge who has worked with the police for 40 years. He would have answered the convocation, without having to have been hauled out of his house at the crack of dawn and dragged here," he said.

The case is one of six legal cases either directly, or indirectly, involving Sarkozy who denies any wrongdoing and has likened the use of phone-tapping by investigators to methods used by the "Stasi" police of former East Germany.