A Paris court has convicted former French President Nicolas Sarkozy of criminal conspiracy related to alleged illegal campaign financing from Libya’s late dictator Muammar Gaddafi for his 2007 presidential campaign.
According to Euronews, Sarkozy was, however, acquitted of other charges of corruption, embezzlement of Libyan public funds, and illegal election campaign financing.
The criminal conspiracy charge relates to his involvement in a group that prepared a corruption offence between 2005 and 2007, the court said.
The trial Judge, Nathalie Gavarino, while delivering judgement on Thursday, declared that Sarkozy, as a serving minister and party leader at the time, had “allowed his close collaborators and political supporters over whom he had authority and who acted in his name” to approach the Libyan authorities “in order to obtain or attempt to obtain financial support”.
The prosecution accused Sarkozy of forging a deal with Gaddafi in exchange for campaign money, promising to help rehabilitate Libya’s international standing and offer leniency for Gaddafi’s brother-in-law, Abdallah Senoussi, convicted in France for a 1989 airline bombing that killed 170 people.
Sarkozy has consistently denied wrongdoing, insisting there’s “not a shred of proof” linking Libyan funds to his campaign.
His lawyers argued that the case is built on unreliable documents and testimony.
The sentencing will be announced later, with prosecutors requesting a seven-year prison term. Sarkozy can appeal the verdict, which would suspend any sentence pending the outcome.
This case adds to Sarkozy’s mounting legal troubles, having already been convicted in two other cases: the “Bygmalion affair” over his 2012 presidential campaign spending and the “Bismuth case” involving corruption and influence peddling.
Eleven co-defendants were also implicated, including three former ministers. Two former close aides, Claude Gueant and Brice Hortefeux, were convicted alongside Sarkozy, while Eric Woerth, Sarkozy’s 2007 campaign treasurer, was acquitted.
Between January and May, the former head of state had to wear an electronic ankle bracelet, an unprecedented punishment for a former president. He has appealed to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR).
