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Nicolas Sarkozy Faces Trial for Alleged €50 Million Libyan Financing of 2007 Campaign on Corruption Charges

Jan 5, 2025, 02:51 PM

Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy is set to go on trial starting Monday, facing charges of corruption, illegal campaign financing, association of wrongdoers, and receiving misappropriated public funds. The trial, which will run until April 10, centers on allegations that Sarkozy accepted illegal campaign financing from the late Libyan dictator Moamer Kadhafi for his successful 2007 presidential campaign. The amount in question is reportedly around €50 million. Sarkozy, who has been convicted twice in separate cases since leaving office, denies the allegations, asserting that there is no evidence of any such financing. The prosecution alleges that a pact was formed in 2005 between Sarkozy and Kadhafi, with the latter providing financial support in exchange for international rehabilitation and other benefits. Alongside Sarkozy, 12 others, including former ministers Claude Guéant, Brice Hortefeux, and Eric Woerth, as well as intermediaries Ziad Takieddine and Alexandre Djouhri, will be tried. If convicted, Sarkozy faces up to 10 years in prison and a fine of 375,000 euros, as well as potential ineligibility for up to five years.