Vidostream | News, sport and opinion from the Vidostream's US Edition

https://vidostream.com

Former French president Sarkozy faces court over alleged €50 million Gaddafi pact

Former French President Nicholas Sarkozy goes on trial on Monday on charges he accepted some 50 million euros in illegal campaign financing from late Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi. Sarkozy, who has been twice convicted for separate crimes since leaving office, has described the allegations as part of a conspiracy against him.

Nicolas Sarkozy has suffered a litany of court woes FRANCK FIFE

Nicolas Sarkozy has suffered a litany of court woes FRANCK FIFE

Former French president Nicolas Sarkozy, already convicted twice in separate cases since leaving office, on Monday goes on trial charged with accepting illegal campaign financing in an alleged pact with the late Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi.

The career of Sarkozy has been shadowed by legal troubles since he lost the 2012 presidential election. But he remains an influential figure for many on the right and is also known to regularly meet President Emmanuel Macron.

The fiercely ambitious and energetic politician, 69, who is married to the model and singer Carla Bruni and while in power from 2007-2012 liked to be known as the "hyper-president", has been convicted in two cases, charged in another and is being investigated in connection with two more.

Sarkozy will be in the dock at the Paris court barely half a month after France's top appeals court on December 18 rejected his appeal against a one year prison sentence for influence peddling, which he is to serve by wearing an electronic bracelet rather than in jail.

The latest trial is the result of a decade of investigations into accusations that Sarkozy accepted illegal campaign financing – reportedly amounting to some 50 million euros – from Gaddafi to help his victorious 2007 election campaign.

In exchange, it is alleged, Sarkozy and senior figures pledged to help Gaddafi rehabilitate his international image after Tripoli was blamed for bombing attacks on Pan Am Flight 103 in 1988 over Lockerbie in Scotland and UTA Flight 772 in 1989 that killed hundreds of passengers.

Sarkozy has denounced the accusations as part of a conspiracy against him, insisting that he never received any financing for the campaign from Gaddafi and that there is no evidence of any such transfer.

'He will fight'

At a time when many Western countries were courting Gaddafi for energydeals as the maverick dictator sought to emerge from decades of international isolation, the Libyan leader in December 2007 visited Paris, famously installing his tent in the centre of the city.

But France then backed the UN-sanctioned military action that helped in 2011 oust Gaddafi, who was then killed by rebels. Sarkozy has said allegations from former members of Gaddafi's inner circle over the alleged campaign financing are motivated by revenge.

If convicted, Sarkozy faces up to 10 years in prison under the charges of concealing embezzlement of public funds and illegal campaign financing. The trial is due to last until April 10.

Sarkozy "is awaiting these four months of hearings with determination. He will fight the artificial construction dreamed up by the prosecution. There was no Libyan financing of the campaign," said his lawyer Christophe Ingrain.

Among 12 others facing trial over the alleged Libyan financing are heavyweights such as Sarkozy's former right-hand man, Claude Gueant, his then-head of campaign financing, Eric Woerth, and former minister Brice Hortefeux.

"Claude Gueant will demonstrate that after more than ten years of investigation, none of the offences he is accused of have been proven," said his lawyer Philippe Bouchez El Ghozi, denouncing the cases as amounting to "assertions, hypotheses and other approximations."

Witness tampering charges

For the prosecution, the pact started in 2005 when Gaddafi and Sarkozy, then interior minister, met in Tripoli for a meeting ostensibly devoted to fighting illegal migration. But Sarkozy's defence counters that no trace of the illegal financing was ever found in the campaign coffers.

The scandal erupted in April 2012, while Sarkozy was in the throes of his re-election campaign, when the Mediapart website published a bombshell article based on a document purportedly from December 2006 it said showed a former Libyan official evoking an agreement over the campaign financing.

Sarkozy has long contended that the document is not genuine. 

An embittered Sarkozy would later narrowly lose the second round of the election to Socialist François Hollande.

Franco-Lebanese businessman Ziad Takieddine, a key figure in the case, had claimed several times that he helped deliver up to five million euros ($5.4 million at current rates) in cash from Gaddafi to Sarkozy and his chief of staff in 2006 and 2007. 

But in 2020, Takieddine suddenly retracted his incriminating statement, raising suspicions that Sarkozy and close allies may have paid the witness to change his mind.

In a further twist, Sarkozy was charged in October 2023 with illegal witness tampering while Carla Bruni was last year charged with hiding evidence in the same case.

WATCH MORE: Sarkozy convicted: What does it mean for politics and justice in France?

Sarkozy's second conviction, in another campaign financing case, was confirmed last year by a Paris appeals court which ruled he should serve six months in prison, with another six months suspended. This verdict can still go to a higher domestic appeals court.

(AFP)

Author: Editors Desk, Video by: Shirli SITBON

Source: France 24

We are using cookies to give you the best experience on our website. By continuing to browse, you are agreeing to our Cookie Policy.
You did not use the site, Click here to remain logged. Timeout: 60 second