PARIS–Former prime minister Dominique de Villepin was placed under formal investigation yesterday for his role in an alleged plot to smear Nicolas Sarkozy and damage his chances of winning the presidency.

In addition to "complicity in slanderous accusations," other serious charges being considered include: receiving stolen goods, breach of trust and complicity to use forged documents.

If he is indicted and convicted, he could face up to five years in prison.

"I won't hide the fact that these accusations are hurtful for me and my family, but I will fight so that the truth finally comes out," Villepin said yesterday.

Sarkozy was the target of a smear campaign in 2004 when he was finance minister and jockeying to succeed Jacques Chirac as president.

At the time, an anonymous message was sent to a judge that listed Sarkozy and other officials as holders of secret accounts at Clearstream, a financial clearing house in Luxembourg, in which they supposedly benefited from $1.9 billion (Cdn.) given to French officials as kickbacks for the sale of French navy frigates to Taiwan in 1991.

Villepin's Paris apartment and his office were searched by the police this month as the investigation moved forward.

The raids were prompted by files found on the computer of a retired spy, Gen. Philippe Rondot, who had been asked by Villepin in 2004 to investigate the list outside official channels.