Former French president Nicolas Sarkozy has been sentenced to five years in prison after being found guilty of criminal conspiracy in a long-running case tied to illicit campaign funding from late Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi.
Delivering the ruling on Wednesday, Judge Nathalie Gavarino said Sarkozy allowed close aides to seek millions of euros from Gaddafi’s regime to bankroll his 2007 presidential bid.
However, the Paris criminal court acquitted him of passive corruption and illegal campaign financing, ruling there was insufficient evidence to prove he directly benefited from the funds.
The 70-year-old, who led France from 2007 to 2012, was also ordered to pay a €100,000 (£87,000) fine. Gasps were heard in the courtroom as the sentence was read, with the decision marking the first time a former French president faces jail time.
Speaking to reporters outside court, Sarkozy condemned the verdict as politically motivated and vowed to appeal. “What happened today is of extreme gravity for the rule of law,” he said. “If they absolutely want me to sleep in jail, I will sleep in jail, but with my head held high.”
The investigation was launched in 2013 after Saif al-Islam, Gaddafi’s son, accused Sarkozy of taking millions from his father to finance the 2007 campaign. Lebanese businessman Ziad Takieddine later claimed to have proof that €50m (£43m) flowed from Tripoli to Paris, continuing even after Sarkozy took office.
Several of Sarkozy’s allies were also implicated. Former interior minister Claude Gueant was convicted of corruption, while Brice Hortefeux was found guilty of criminal conspiracy. Sarkozy’s wife, Italian-born singer and former model Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, is separately facing charges of concealing evidence and fraud, which she denies.
Sarkozy has been embroiled in multiple legal cases since leaving office. In February 2024, he was handed a one-year sentence, partly suspended, for overspending on his failed 2012 re-election campaign. In 2021, he was convicted of attempting to bribe a judge, becoming the first ex-president to receive a custodial sentence though he was allowed to serve it at home with an electronic tag.
The latest verdict is a humiliating setback for a man who has consistently protested his innocence, and it raises the prospect of him serving actual prison time in Paris in the coming days.
Erizia Rubyjeana
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