Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy Sentenced to Prison Over Libyan Campaign Funding Scandal

A Paris court has found former French President Nicolas Sarkozy guilty in a high-profile case involving alleged Libyan campaign funding.

New Delhi:

Nicolas Sarkozy, who served as France's president, received a five-year prison sentence on Thursday following allegations that he accepted campaign financing from Libya's former leader Muammar Gaddafi during his 2007 presidential bid.

The court cleared Sarkozy of three additional charges including passive corruption, illegal campaign financing, and concealment of embezzled public funds, according to Associated Press reporting.

The 70-year-old former president attended the court proceedings accompanied by his wife, singer-model Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, while his three adult sons were also present during the verdict.

Prosecutors alleged that Sarkozy orchestrated a scheme between 2005 and 2007 where his associates sought Libyan funding for his campaign with promises of diplomatic favors in return. This arrangement was characterized by prosecutors as a "corruption pact" with Gaddafi's regime.

The court determined that Sarkozy permitted his close associates to pursue financial backing from Libya for his presidential campaign, though it couldn't conclusively establish that Libyan money was actually used. Under French legal standards, corrupt arrangements remain punishable even without proof of money transfers.

The criminal association charge carries a maximum potential sentence of 10 years imprisonment. Sarkozy was acquitted of other significant charges in the case.

Claude Gueant and Brice Hortefeux, both former ministers and close Sarkozy allies, were also convicted of criminal association but cleared of other charges.

Businessman Ziad Takieddine, who had claimed to deliver Libyan cash for Sarkozy's campaign, died in Beirut during the trial proceedings. Takieddine had previously withdrawn statements implicating Sarkozy, which prompted a separate investigation into possible witness tampering.

The investigation began in 2011 when Libya and Gaddafi publicly claimed they had secretly funded Sarkozy's campaign. A 2012 Mediapart investigative report cited a Libyan intelligence document alleging a 50 million-euro funding agreement, though the court later deemed this document likely fraudulent, according to Al Jazeera.

Investigators examined alleged fund transfers through intermediaries involving cash deliveries and falsified documentation. They scrutinized trips to Libya by Sarkozy's aides between 2005 and 2007, offshore financial accounts, and various money trails, as reported by The Guardian.

Sarkozy has consistently maintained his innocence, claiming the allegations were politically motivated.

During his presidency, Sarkozy played a significant role in Libya's international rehabilitation, hosting Gaddafi in Paris in 2007 and later supporting NATO's military intervention in Libya during the 2011 Arab Spring uprisings.

This conviction adds to Sarkozy's existing legal challenges:

In 2014, he was convicted of corruption and influence peddling, serving his sentence under electronic monitoring.

In 2012, he was found guilty of illegal campaign financing during his unsuccessful reelection campaign by exceeding spending limits, with an appeal still pending.

Following a previous conviction, Sarkozy was also stripped of the Legion of Honour.