Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy refused to answer questions over the allegation that he received millions in campaign funding from the late Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi’s regime.

The question over the $53 million campaign funds was asked during the final television debate among seven right-wing presidential hopefuls ahead of the first round of their primary.

Irritated by the question, Sarkozy said: “Aren’t you ashamed to repeat claims by a man who has spent time in jail?”

Sarkozy, who is bidding to recapture the presidency in next year’s election, has for years been dogged by allegations that he accepted millions from Gaddafi during his successful 2007 run for the top office.

On Tuesday, Al-Arabiya reported that Franco-Lebanese businessman Ziad Takieddine said he had delivered three cash-stuffed suitcases from the Libyan regime to the Frenchman’s first presidential bid.

Declining to answer the question from a France 2 presenter, Sarkozy suggested it was beneath the dignity of a public television network.