Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy was sentenced to five years in prison in the case of financing the 2007 election campaign
The Paris Criminal Court found former French President Nicolas Sarkozy guilty of financing his 2005-2007 election campaign with funds received from the Libyan regime of Muammar Gaddafi and sentenced him to five years in prison. reports Reuters.
The sentence is subject to immediate execution, even if an appeal is filed. In addition, Sarkozy was fined 100,000 euros and banned from public office for five years. At the same time, he was acquitted on other charges, including corruption and illegal campaign financing.
The case also involved his former assistant Claude Gean and ex-Minister of the Interior Brice Ortefe. The court found them guilty of corruption, and Ortefe also of conspiracy. Three other defendants received acquittals.
The head of the court, Nathalie Gavarino, said that Sarkozy “allowed his close associates to act in order to obtain financial support from the Libyan regime.” The investigation lasted more than ten years. The accusation was based, in particular, on testimony about the delivery of suitcases from Libya with five million euros, which could become the basis of his election campaign. Sarkozy himself constantly rejected the charges and called the case “a disgrace to journalism”.
Let us remind you that Nicolas Sarkozy headed France from 2007 to 2012. In 2011, he actively supported the military intervention in Libya, which ended with the overthrow and death of Gaddafi. Earlier, in 2021, Sarkozy had already been found guilty twice: first in the case of corruption and influence peddling, and later in the illegal financing of the 2012 campaign. He was sentenced to prison, but was actually limited to wearing an electronic bracelet and partial house arrest.
