DHAKA: A French appeals court ruled on Tuesday that an investigation could proceed into former president Nicolas Sarkozy for allegedly duping L’Oreal heiress Liliane Bettencourt into donating election campaign funds, a lawyer for her family said.

The decision means continued legal uncertainty for Sarkozy, whose supporters would like to see him make a new bid for the presidency in 2017.

A final judgment in the case could take many months, reports The Straits Times.

Sarkozy was placed under formal investigation in March for allegedly exploiting the mental frailty of France’s richest woman after she was declared to be in a state of dementia, in order to raise money for his 2007 election campaign.

The decision of the court to proceed with the investigation was announced to reporters outside the court in the southwest cit of Bordeaux by Nicolas Huc-Morel, the Bettencourt family lawyer.

BDST: 1414 HRS, SEPT 24, 2013
RoR/BSK