Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy, 69, is set to stand trial on Monday, accused of illegally accepting funds from the Libyan government led by Moammar Gadhafi to finance his 2007 presidential campaign. The charges against Sarkozy include passive corruption, illegal campaign financing, concealment of public funds embezzlement, and criminal association, with a potential sentence of up to 10 years in prison.
Sarkozy, who served as France’s president from 2007 to 2012, has consistently denied any wrongdoing. His legal team remains resolute in claiming that no Libyan money was involved in his campaign, insisting that the court will examine the case impartially.
The trial includes 11 other defendants, among them three former French ministers. Key to the case is Franco-Lebanese businessman Ziad Takieddine, who is accused of acting as an intermediary. Takieddine fled to Lebanon and is not expected to appear in court.
Governor Yusuf’s legal representative, Christophe Ingrain, stated that Sarkozy approaches the trial “with determination,” while maintaining that there is no foundation to the accusations.
The case first came to light in March 2011 after a Libyan news agency reported that Gadhafi’s government had funded Sarkozy’s campaign. Gadhafi himself later stated that it was due to Libya’s financial backing that Sarkozy had won the presidency, although no specific amount was mentioned.
Sarkozy, who had previously welcomed Gadhafi to Paris with grand honors in 2007, became a vocal advocate for military intervention in Libya during the Arab Spring protests in 2011, just months before Gadhafi’s regime was overthrown and he was killed.
Further scrutiny emerged after French news outlet Mediapart published a document in 2012, allegedly from Libyan intelligence, claiming that Gadhafi had agreed to finance Sarkozy’s campaign with 50 million euros. Sarkozy dismissed the document as a “blatant fake,” while filing complaints against the spread of false information.
Despite Sarkozy’s denials, French investigators began investigating numerous trips to Libya made by Sarkozy’s close aides, including his chief of staff, Claude Guéant, between 2005 and 2007. The investigation intensified when Takieddine claimed in 2016 that he had delivered millions in cash from Libya to the French Interior Ministry. However, he retracted his statement in 2020.
The ongoing investigation has also raised concerns over potential witness tampering, with allegations that attempts were made to pressure Takieddine in order to exonerate Sarkozy.
Additional individuals implicated in the case include Alexandre Djouhri, a Franco-Algerian businessman, and several high-profile figures associated with Gadhafi’s inner circle. Among the accused is Gadhafi’s former chief of staff and treasurer, Bashir Saleh, who is currently in South Africa, as well as Saudi billionaires and former corporate executives. Investigators have also uncovered a notebook belonging to Gadhafi’s former oil minister, Shukri Ghanem, which allegedly documents payments to Sarkozy’s campaign.
The Libyan case is seen as a pivotal moment in Sarkozy’s post-presidential career, overshadowing previous scandals for which he was convicted, including a corruption charge upheld last month by France’s highest court. This trial could have significant consequences on Sarkozy’s legacy.
Sarkozy was also convicted in an appeal court in 2022 for illegal campaign financing in his failed 2012 re-election bid.
