Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy has been handed a five-year prison sentence after a Paris court found him guilty of criminal conspiracy linked to illicit campaign funds allegedly received from late Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi.
According to the BBC, the court acquitted Sarkozy of other charges, including passive corruption and illegal campaign financing.
The 70-year-old, who served as France’s president from 2007 to 2012, said he was ready to “sleep in jail” if they wanted him there, while speaking to reporters after the hearing.
Prosecutors had accused Sarkozy of accepting millions of euros from Gaddafi to fund his 2007 presidential campaign, allegedly offering diplomatic support in return to help rehabilitate Gaddafi’s global image. Judge Nathalie Gavarino stated that Sarkozy permitted close aides to engage Libyan officials in pursuit of campaign financing.
However, the court concluded that there was insufficient evidence to prove Sarkozy personally benefited from the illegal funds. Despite this, he was sentenced to five years in prison and fined €100,000 (£87,000). The ruling mandates incarceration even if he appeals.
Sarkozy, who has consistently denied wrongdoing, reiterated his innocence and confirmed plans to challenge the decision.
“What happened today… is of extreme gravity in regard to the rule of law, and for the trust one can have in the justice system,” he said.
“If they absolutely want me to sleep in jail, I will sleep in jail, but with my head held high.”
Prosecutors accused Sarkozy of striking a deal with Gaddafi in 2005, while serving as France’s interior minister, to secure millions in illicit funds for his 2007 presidential bid.
In exchange, Sarkozy was accused of offering diplomatic support to the internationally isolated Libyan regime.
The court ruled that between 2005 and 2007, Sarkozy and his associates engaged in “criminal association” to channel Libyan money into his campaign.
The legal probe into Sarkozy’s alleged ties to Libyan campaign funding began in 2013, following explosive claims by Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, son of the late Libyan leader.
He accused the former French president of accepting millions in covert donations to support his 2007 election bid.
A year later, Ziad Takieddine, a Lebanese businessman long involved in diplomatic dealings between France and the Middle East, bolstered the allegations.
He claimed to possess documentary evidence showing that Sarkozy’s campaign was generously bankrolled by Tripoli, with payments totaling €50 million (£43 million) allegedly continuing even after Sarkozy assumed office.
Takieddine, however, died of cardiac arrest in Beirut, Lebanon, on Tuesday. He was 75.
The trial swept in several high-profile figures from Sarkozy’s administration. Former interior ministers Claude Guéant and Brice Hortefeux were among those charged. Guéant was convicted of corruption and other offenses, while Hortefeux was found guilty of criminal conspiracy.
Adding to the scandal’s reach, Sarkozy’s wife, Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, who was in court with him, faced charges last year for allegedly concealing evidence related to the Gaddafi affair and conspiring with others to commit fraud.
She denied the allegations.