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French police raid home of L’Oreal heiress

Investigators probe Liliane Bettencourt’s finances over allegations of secret payments to politicians

French police raided the home of L’Oreal heiress Liliane Bettencourt Wednesday after weeks of looking at her finances to probe allegations of secret payments to politicians. Bettencourt’s former bookkeeper told police she received envelopes of cash that were to be given to French President Nicolas Sarkozy and French Labor Minister Eric Woerth, a claim that both politicians denied. The alleged payments came to light in secret recordings, purportedly made by Bettencourt’s butler, that also refer to a Bettencourt bank account in Switzerland containing 80 million euros that were not reported on her taxes. Bettencourt’s daughter Françoise Bettencourt Meyers also went to court in June accusing photographer Francois-Marie Banier of bilking her mother out of one billion euros. Bettencourt Meyers claims her mother, reported to be France’s richest woman, is not mentally competent to handle her own affairs.

CNN

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