Bruni in controversy over AIDS charity money paid to friend

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French First Lady Carla Bruni has reportedly landed into a major controversy in the wake of allegations that she handed out AIDS charity money to one of her closest friends and to a foundation she runs.

The money was paid by the Geneva-based Global Fund to fight AIDS for a campaign called Born HIV-free, which aims to raise awareness of transmission of HIV from mothers to their children. Bruni is an ambassador for the fund.

But, French political magazine 'Marianne' claimed that 44-year-old Bruni gave Euros 2.7 million from the Global Fund to companies belonging to her friend Julien Civange, a 43-year-old music entrepreneur. And it's alleged that the money which actually went towards fighting AIDS was minimal.

Though Bruni admitted the money was paid to Civange to promote her work, but denied it came from public funds, the British media reported.

The French magazine also claims that the First Lady's Foundation Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, which actually has no proper legal status, no bank account and opaque accounts, also got some money from the Global Fund.

However, a statement by the Global Fund dubs Marianne's report as 'untruthful and misleading'.

It 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 used appropriately".

Bruni is currently keeping a low profile after giving birth to her first child with President Nicolas Sarkozy, a daughter called Giulia, in November. Her brother, Virginio, died of an Aids-related illness in 2006.