Nicolas Sarkozy goes on trial for alleged electoral financing of Gaddafi

Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy has gone on trial in Paris, accused of receiving millions of euros in illicit funds from the late Libyan leader Colonel Muammar Gaddafi to finance his 2007 election campaign.

In return, prosecutors allege that Sarkozy promised to help Gaddafi combat his reputation as a pariah in Western countries.

Sarkozy, 69, was president of France from 2007 to 2012.

He has always denied the charges, saying they were brought against him by people motivated to bring him down.

The investigation was opened in 2013, two years after Saif al-Islam, son of the then Libyan leader, first accused Sarkozy of taking millions of his father’s money to finance his campaign.

The following year, Lebanese businessman Ziad Takieddine – who long acted as an intermediary between France and the Middle East – said he had proven in writing that Sarkozy’s campaign had been “abundantly” financed by Tripoli, and that the 50 million euros (£43 million) ) value of payments continued after he became president.

Twelve other people, accused of masterminding the pact with Gaddafi, are being tried along with Sarkozy. They all deny the charges.

Sarkozy’s wife, former Italian supermodel and singer Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, was accused last year of hiding evidence related to the Gaddafi case and associating with wrongdoers to commit fraud, things she denies.

Since losing his re-election bid in 2012, Sarkozy has been the subject of several criminal investigations.

He also appealed a February 2024 ruling that found him Guilty of spending too much on his 2012 re-election campaignand then hired a public relations firm to cover it up. He was sentenced to one year in prison, of which six months were suspended.

In 2021, he was found guilty of attempting to bribe a judge and in 2014 he became the first former French president to receive a custodial sentence. In December, the Paris appeals court ruled that it could serve your sentence at home using a tag instead of going to jail.

Sarkozy was not wearing the label when he arrived at the Paris court on Monday morning.

However, this is only because the details of that ruling have not yet been resolved.

It is likely that in the course of this three-month trial over the so-called Libya connection, the former president will appear carrying the device.

The trial will continue until April 10. If convicted, Sarkozy faces up to 10 years in prison.