Libyan Financing Trial: A Damning Indictment Against Nicolas Sarkozy

On Wednesday, March 27, the French National Financial Prosecutor’s Office (PNF) requested a sentence of seven years in prison, a €300,000 fine, and five years of ineligibility against Nicolas Sarkozy. The former president is on trial before the Paris Criminal Court for “illegal campaign financing,” “passive corruption,” “receiving embezzled public funds,” and “criminal conspiracy” in connection with allegations of Libyan funding for his 2007 presidential campaign.

Prosecutors described a “corruption pact that is inconceivable, unprecedented, and indecent” forged with Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi as early as 2005 when Sarkozy was Minister of the Interior. According to the prosecution, illicit Libyan funds were funneled into his victorious 2007 campaign, violating electoral financing rules in exchange for diplomatic favors to Gaddafi’s regime.

A Harsh Indictment to “Restore Social Balance”

After ten weeks of hearings filled with explosive revelations and Sarkozy’s persistent denials, the prosecution emphasized the gravity of the charges. The former president, who was “bound by a duty of exemplary conduct,” allegedly engaged in a “relentless pursuit of campaign funding” driven by a “ravenous political ambition.”

The PNF argued that only firm sanctions would ensure “the protection of society” and “restore social balance.” In addition to Sarkozy’s sentence, prosecutors requested convictions for several close associates who allegedly played key roles in the illicit financing scheme:

• Claude Guéant: six years in prison and a €100,000 fine

• Brice Hortefeux: three years in prison and a €150,000 fine

• Ziad Takieddine (a Franco-Lebanese intermediary, currently on the run): six years in prison and a €3 million fine

• Éric Woerth (former campaign treasurer): one year in prison and a €3,750 fine

• Thierry Gaubert and Alexandre Djouhri (financial intermediaries): three years in prison and a €150,000 fine

Although the prosecution admitted the difficulty of fully tracing illicit financial flows, it firmly stated that “Libyan money was indeed used to finance the 2007 campaign.”

Sarkozy Denounces the Charges as “Baseless”

In response to these charges, Nicolas Sarkozy denounced the case as “false accusations” and an “outrageous sentence.” Since the start of the trial, he has vehemently denied any wrongdoing, rejecting any involvement and calling the allegations “a political fabrication.” He insisted that “not a single euro, not even a cent, from Libya” was used in his campaign, accusing the judiciary of “wanting to make an example of him.”

Throughout the hearings, Sarkozy followed the proceedings attentively, occasionally taking notes and muttering from the defendants’ bench. After the indictment was announced, he let his lawyers respond, one of whom dismissed the charges as “empty and meaningless.”

Already convicted in the Paul Bismuth case and in the Bygmalion case regarding his 2012 campaign finances, Sarkozy has appealed both rulings. He remains determined to fight “step by step for the truth,” arguing that this trial is politically motivated.

The Paris Criminal Court’s verdict is not expected for several months, leaving uncertainty over the former president’s legal fate.