Former French president Nicolas Sarkozy will on Thursday learn whether he is guilty of taking millions of euros from late Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi to fund his 2007 election campaign, in what has become one of France’s most explosive political scandals.
Prosecutors have requested a seven-year prison sentence for the 70-year-old, who led France from 2007 to 2012. If convicted, Sarkozy can appeal, a move that would likely suspend any immediate jail term.
Sarkozy, on trial since January, faces charges of concealing the embezzlement of public funds, passive corruption, illegal campaign financing, and criminal conspiracy.
Investigators allege he struck a corrupt deal with Gaddafi’s regime, with cash reportedly transported to Paris in suitcases. The case has entangled Libyan intelligence operatives, arms dealers, and even a convicted terrorist.
The former president has consistently denied wrongdoing, dismissing the accusations as politically motivated.
Despite mounting legal troubles, including the loss of his Legion of Honour in June, Sarkozy remains an influential figure. He recently met Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu, once his protégé, and sparked debate by suggesting Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Rally should now be considered part of France’s “republican arc.”
Sarkozy’s legal record has darkened since leaving office. Last year, France’s highest court upheld his conviction for corruption and influence peddling, making him the first former president ordered to wear an electronic tag.
That same year, an appeals court confirmed a separate conviction for illegal financing of his failed 2012 re-election campaign.
The verdict in the Libya case, the most serious he has faced, could define his political legacy.
Source: Reuters
Written By Rodney Mbua
