PARIS — The former President of France, Nicolas Sarkozy, began his trial on Monday concerning alleged illicit funding of his 2007 presidential campaign by the regime of the then-Libyan leader, Moammar Gadhafi.
Sarkozy, aged 69 and in office from 2007 to 2012, opted not to address the media as he entered the Paris courtroom, maintaining his stance of innocence regarding the allegations against him.
This significant case, heralded as one of several controversies surrounding Sarkozy, is expected to continue until April 10, with a verdict to follow at a later time.
Sarkozy is facing multiple charges, including passive corruption, illegal campaign financing, concealment of embezzlement of public funds, and criminal association, which carries a potential prison sentence of up to ten years.
In the trial’s proceedings, he is joined by 11 other defendants, including three former cabinet ministers. Notably, Ziad Takieddine, a Franco-Lebanese businessman seen as a pivotal intermediary in the case, absconded to Lebanon and was absent from court.
Sarkozy’s lawyer, Christophe Ingrain, stated that the former president is approaching the hearings “with determination,” asserting that there was no unlawful Libyan funding involved in the campaign.
Ingrain expressed hope that the court would objectively assess the evidence without being influenced by what he described as a convoluted theory that has tainted the investigation thus far.
As complex legal discussions unfolded in the courtroom, Sarkozy displayed signs of anxiety, seemingly preoccupied as he fidgeted in his seat.
Anti-corruption organizations, including Sherpa, Anticor, and Transparency International, are participating in the trial, emphasizing in a statement that the accusations of illegal funding illustrate the mechanisms behind cross-border corruption, which siphons resources away from essential public services.
They underscored the necessity of recognizing the victims of such corruption in the context of the trial.
The origin of the case dates back to March 2011, when a Libyan news service alleged that Gadhafi’s administration had financed Sarkozy’s campaign. During an interview, Gadhafi claimed that he had helped Sarkozy ascend to the presidency, asserting that his regime provided the necessary funding, though he did not specify the amount or the details of this alleged support.
Sarkozy welcomed Gadhafi to France with great ceremony in 2007 and subsequently became one of the first Western leaders advocating for military intervention in Libya during the Arab Spring pro-democracy protests that erupted in March 2011. Gadhafi was later killed by rebels, culminating his four decades in power.
Following this, in 2012, the French news site Mediapart released documents purporting to indicate that Gadhafi had agreed to supply Sarkozy’s campaign with 50 million euros.
Sarkozy has fiercely dismissed these allegations, labeling the documents as “a blatant fake,” and has initiated legal action for forgery and false reporting.
Nonetheless, French investigative magistrates eventually asserted in 2016 that the document bears characteristics of authenticity, although definitive proof of the transaction remains elusive.
The officially stated cost for Sarkozy’s 2007 campaign was 20 million euros.
Investigators scrutinized numerous trips taken by Sarkozy’s associates to Libya between 2005 and 2007, including his chief of staff, Claude Guéant. The results of the investigation were amplified when Takieddine claimed in an interview in 2016 that he delivered three suitcases filled with cash from Libya to the French Interior Ministry.
Interestingly, he later retracted his statement in 2020, prompting a separate investigation into suspected witness tampering.
Authorities are now looking into claims that efforts were made to coerce Takieddine to absolve Sarkozy of involvement. Both Sarkozy and his wife, Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, are now confronting preliminary charges, accused of benefiting from corrupt influences on Takieddine.
Among the other defendants are three former ministers, including Guéant, and an ex-advisor to Sarkozy. Additionally, Franco-Algerian businessman Alexandre Djouhri is also implicated as an intermediary.
The case further encompasses Gadhafi’s former chief of staff, Bashir Saleh, who had sought refuge in France during the civil war, then moved to South Africa, where he survived a shooting in 2018, and is now settled in the UAE. Saleh was not present in court on Monday.
Also implicated are two Saudi billionaires, a former executive at Airbus, and a former banker connected to the purported financial transfers.
Shukri Ghanem, the former Libyan oil minister, under investigation, was found dead in unclear circumstances in Vienna in 2012. Investigators discovered Ghanem’s notebook, which reportedly contains records of payments made by Libya.
Furthermore, Abdullah al-Senoussi, Gadhafi’s spy chief and brother-in-law, provided statements to investigative judges affirming that funds were indeed allocated to back Sarkozy’s campaign. Currently imprisoned in Libya for war crimes, al-Senoussi’s claims heightened the scrutiny against Sarkozy.
Sarkozy has faced conviction in two other scandals, but the Libyan case stands as the one that could most significantly tarnish his public legacy.
Recently, France’s highest court upheld a conviction for corruption and influence peddling during his presidency, sentencing him to one year of house arrest with an electronic monitoring device. This case surfaced as a result of wiretaps unearthed during the Libya investigation.
Additionally, a Paris appeals court ruled against Sarkozy in February last year for illegal campaign financing related to his unsuccessful 2012 re-election attempt.
