Sarkozy of France is on trial for allegedly sponsoring a campaign in Libya

On Monday, former French President Nicolas Sarkozy was put on trial for allegedly receiving millions of euros in illicit funding for his successful 2007 presidential campaign from the late Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi.

Before the hearing began, Sarkozy appeared at ease in the courtroom, mingling with attorneys and other defendants. He has always refuted the charges.

Charges against the conservative former leader include “concealment of embezzlement of public funds, passive corruption, illegal campaign financing, and criminal conspiracy with a view to committing a crime,” according to the office of the financial prosecutor.

The three-month experiment, which starts at 1:30 p.m. (1230 GMT), might further erode popular trust in the French political establishment.

He allegedly struck a corrupt deal with the Libyan government, according to investigators. In question is a complex case that allegedly involves arms traffickers, Libyan agents, a convicted terrorist, and claims that Gaddafi gave Sarkozy’s campaign millions of euros that were transported to Paris in bags.

According to Sarkozy’s attorney, the case against the former president was fabricated, and the campaign was not financed by Libya.

“After 10 years of investigation, with an unprecedented deployment of resources, wiretaps, judges traveling abroad, all over the world, there is – obviously – no trace of financing, no transfer, no payment, not even an amount for the alleged financing,” attorney Christophe Ingrain stated.

Sarkozy faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in jail and penalties of 375,000 euros ($386,000) if convicted.

Sarkozy has been involved in many court cases in recent years.

His conviction for corruption and influence peddling to win a judge’s favor was affirmed by France’s top court in December. 

For the first time for a former president of state from France, Sarkozy has been sentenced to wear an electronic bracelet for a year rather than face jail time.
Sarkozy was convicted of hiding unlawful campaign expenditures in another instance, and a challenge is still proceeding.

Investigating by searching

According to financial prosecutors, Sarkozy, who was France’s interior minister at the time, negotiated with Gaddafi in 2005 to secure campaign funding in return for backing the government in the isolated international arena.

In 2011, Gaddafi was overthrown and ultimately assassinated.

The French investigative website Mediapart claimed to have a message from Libyan intelligence agencies in December 2006 that mentioned Gaddafi’s agreement to provide millions of dollars to support Sarkozy’s presidential campaign.

The document was a forgery, according to Sarkozy.

In 2013, investigative judges began their investigation.

More than ten years later, the complex case—which is connected to nine other court cases—reaches the courtroom. In order to follow the alleged funds through several intermediaries and businesses, detectives issued cooperation requests to over twenty-one foreign nations.

Sarkozy’s former right-hand man Claude Gueant, former Interior Minister Brice Hortefeux, and his then-head of campaign fundraising Eric Woerth are among the 12 other defendants in the case who are on trial. All three appeared in court on Monday.

In a joint statement, anti-corruption organizations Sherpa, Anticor, and Transparency International said, “This alleged illicit financing illustrates the mechanisms of cross-border corruption, which deprives civilian populations of essential public resources by diverting funds to private and political interests.”

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