Carla Bruni France's first lady Carla Bruni is at the centre of a controversy over the source of money paid to one of her closest friends. The money is said to have come from Switzerland-based Global Fund, a charity set up ten years ago to fight killer diseases in developing nations.
Ms Bruni is an ambassador for the charity and fronts the Born HIV Free campaign, launched in 2010 to raise funds to protect mothers and children from Aids.
On Friday French political magazine Marianne claimed the 44-year-old wife of French president Nicolas Sarkozy gave more than £2million from the Global Fund to companies belonging to Julien Civange, a 43-year-old music entrepreneur, including almost £500,000 paid directly to Mr Civange and his four colleagues for publicising the charity. It is alleged that the money which actually went to towards fighting Aids was minimal.
Ms Bruni admitted that the moey was paid to Mr Civange to promote her work, but denied it came from public funds. Global Fund said all the contracts for its campaign complied with their stringent rules and procedures and the Born HIV-Free campaign underwent an independent and external review which confirmed all funds were used appropriately.
Last year Mr Sarkozy pledged $1.4biliion of French taxpayers' money to the Global Fund, which is backed by the United Nations.
This will increase concerns about a conflict of interest, with Mr Sarkozy apparently giving public funds to a charity which his wife partly controls.
Marianne claims that Ms Bruni asked for the money to be paid directly to Civange's companies through her personal charity foundation in France.
There was no attempt to put the contracts out to public tender, as would have been appropriate for any reputable international charity, it reported.
Mr Civange, who has worked as a DJ and producer, is said to be part of the 'little world of Villa Montmorency', Ms Bruni's luxurious Paris town house where she records her songs.
The former supermodel is known for inviting numerous musicians to work with her there, while Mr Sarkozy remains at the couple's official residence, the Elysee Palace.
Intriguingly, Mr Civange was a witness to Ms Bruni's marriage to Mr Sarkozy in 2008.
As part of her inner-circle, Mr Civange was frequently introduced to Ms Bruni's celebrity friends, including her long term lover Mick Jagger.
More compelling still, Mr Civange is even said to have his own office in the Elysee, complete with his own secretary.
Marianne writes of Born HIV Free: 'Its concrete actions against Aids are rare. Worse still, Carla Bruni-Sarkozy is at the centre of an international scandal: $3.5m was paid by the Global Fund for the fight against Aids, on the margin of legality, and without going to public tender, at the demand of the First Lady, to numerous companies of one of her friends.'
The Global Fund, meanwhile, described the allegations as 'imprecise and misleading'.
Ms Bruni is currently keeping a low profile after giving birth to her first child with Mr Sarkozy, a daughter called Giulia, in November. Her brother, Virginio, died of an Aids-related illness in 2006, following a long battle with the disease.
When she first became an Aids ambassador in 2008, Ms Bruni said: 'I can put all of the media coverage directed toward me to the service of a useful cause.'