Prosecutors in France have called for a seven-year prison term and a hefty fine amounting to 300,000 euros (approximately $325,000) for ex-President Nicolas Sarkozy, who is being investigated for allegations that his 2007 presidential campaign received illegal financial assistance from the government of then-Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi.
In addition to the prison time, the National Financial Prosecutor’s Office (PNF) has requested a five-year suspension of Sarkozy’s civic, civil, and family rights, effectively prohibiting him from holding any public office or serving in a judicial capacity.
This case began in January and is anticipated to conclude by April 10. It stands as a prominent legal challenge among several controversies that have followed Sarkozy since his tenure as president. The charges against the 70-year-old former leader, who governed France from 2007 to 2012, include passive corruption, illegal campaign financing, concealment of embezzled public funds, and forming a criminal association. Sarkozy has consistently denied these allegations.
The roots of these accusations go back to 2011 when a Libyan news outlet and Gadhafi himself claimed that Libya had secretly funneled millions of euros into Sarkozy’s campaign for the presidency in 2007.
In 2012, Mediapart, a French investigative media outlet, released what it claimed was a Libyan intelligence memo documenting a 50 million-euro funding arrangement. Sarkozy refuted the authenticity of the document, labeling it a forgery, and initiated a defamation suit. Despite Sarkozy’s objections, French magistrates later indicated the memo seemed genuine, though there has been no solid proof of an actual financial transaction.
The investigation also explored the travel patterns of Sarkozy’s associates to Libya between 2005 and 2007. A significant development occurred in 2016 when businessman Ziad Takieddine from France and Lebanon told Mediapart he transported cash-filled suitcases from Tripoli to France’s Interior Ministry during Sarkozy’s tenure. Takieddine later withdrew these claims, leading to a separate probe focusing on potential witness tampering.
Both Sarkozy and his spouse, Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, are under preliminary investigation regarding this matter.
The trial includes Sarkozy’s former ministers Claude Guéant, Brice Hortefeux, and Éric Woerth, as well as eight other accused individuals. However, prosecutors assert that Sarkozy remains the primary focus, being charged with reaping benefits from a “corruption pact” with a foreign regime during his campaign to lead France.
Sarkozy has previously been convicted in two other criminal cases, but the allegations involving Libya are seen as politically volatile and significantly impactful on his historical legacy.
In December 2024, France’s highest judicial authority upheld his conviction for corruption and influence peddling, sentencing him to house arrest with an electronic bracelet for one year — a decision stemming from intercepted calls during the Libya probe. A separate judgment in February 2024 from a Paris appeals court found him guilty of illegal campaign financing related to his unsuccessful 2012 reelection effort.
Sarkozy has dismissed the Libya-related allegations as politically charged and based on fabricated evidence. However, a conviction would mark him as the first former French president guilty of accepting illegal foreign campaign funds.
A verdict is expected later this year.