Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy has been convicted of criminal conspiracy for his role in a scandal involving millions of euros in illicit funds from late Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi’s regime to finance his successful 2007 presidential campaign.
The Paris court ruled that Sarkozy allowed his close aides to contact Libyan officials to obtain financial support but acquitted him of corruption and illegal campaign financing charges due to insufficient evidence.
Sarkozy, 70, who served as president from 2007 to 2012, denied the allegations, calling them politically motivated. Prosecutors had sought a seven-year prison sentence.
The court will deliver its sentencing later. Sarkozy’s legal troubles began in 2013 when Saif al-Islam, Gaddafi’s son, accused him of taking millions of euros from his father’s regime for campaign funding.
Lebanese businessman Ziad Takieddine, a key accuser, claimed Sarkozy’s campaign received €50 million in payments from Tripoli.
This conviction adds to Sarkozy’s string of legal issues since leaving office, including a 2021 conviction for bribery and a 2024 ruling for overspending on his 2012 re-election campaign.
His wife, Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, faces separate charges for allegedly hiding evidence related to the Gaddafi case. Despite these challenges, Sarkozy remains influential in French politics.
