Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy was recorded offering to meet Prince Albert of Monaco to 'set up' a plum job for a judge.
Referring to Prince Albert II, the head of the tax haven on the French Riviera, he says: 'Call him today and tell him I will sort it out. I am going to Monaco and I will see the Prince.'
Le Monde newspaper published extracts from telephone calls in which the politician reportedly tells Mr Herzog - who has also been charged with corruption - he will help out Judge Azibert in return for the information.
The conversations apparently took place in February on a mobile phone Mr Sarkozy bought using a false name because he knew his calls were being tapped.
Judge Azibert has already been charged with illegally passing on information in relation to an enquiry into money being received by billionaire L'Oreal heiress, Liliane Bettencourt.
In another part of the phone tapes, Mr Sarkozy is also heard saying he will meet with Michel Roger, Monaco's chief of government.
Mr Sarkozy later discovered that his phone was being bugged, and so did not end up sorting out the job for the judge, it was reported.
Mr Herzog, meanwhile, can be heard telling the politician that he has 'access to unpublished information' on the so-called Bettencourt Affair, and had 'worked really hard' to get it.
The home Mr Sarkozy shares with his third wife, the former model Carla Bruni, was raided by anti-corruption police within a few weeks of him losing the presidential election in 2012.
He faces up to 10 years in prison if convicted of the charges, which are related to accepting millions in illegal cash from benefactors, including the late Colonel Gaddafi.
Speaking yesterday, Mr Sarkozy insisted he was the victim of a 'grotesque' set-up, saying that left-wing judges are trying to destroy his career.
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