French prosecutors requested a seven-year prison sentence and a €300,000 fine for former President Nicolas Sarkozy in his trial over allegations of accepting illegal financing for his 2007 presidential campaign from the former Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi.
The National Financial Prosecutor's Office (PNF) also called for a five-year ban on Sarkozy's civic, civil and family rights, a measure that would bar him from holding elected office or serving in any public judicial role.
Prosecutors have accused Sarkozy and several of his former associates—including ex-Interior Ministers Claude Guéant and Brice Hortefeux, as well as former Budget Minister Eric Woerth, now a member of President Emmanuel Macron’s Renaissance party—of striking an 'unconceivable, unprecedented, and indecent' agreement with Gaddafi.
However, prosecutors have emphasized that the central figure in the case is Sarkozy himself, accusing him of knowingly benefiting from a 'corruption pact' with a foreign dictatorship.
The former president is accused of accepting €50 million in cash from Gaddafi—more than twice the legal campaign funding limit of €21 million at the time. French law imposes strict caps on campaign spending and permits contributions only from French citizens or residents, France24 reported.
70-year-old Sarkozy, who led France from 2007 to 2012, faces charges of passive corruption, illegal campaign financing, concealment of embezzlement of public funds and criminal association.
In exchange for financial support, as Politico reported, Sarkozy allegedly used his presidential powers to strengthen France’s diplomatic and business ties with Tripoli and reconsider the case of Gaddafi’s brother-in-law, Abdullah Senussi. In 1999, a French court found Senussi guilty in absentia for his role in the bombing of a flight from Brazzaville, in the then-People’s Republic of the Congo, to Paris—a tragedy that killed all 170 passengers—and sentenced him to life in prison.
The allegations first emerged in 2011 when a Libyan news agency reported that Gaddafi's government had funded Sarkozy's campaign.
'It’s thanks to us that he reached the presidency,' Gaddafi claimed in an interview. 'We provided him with the funds that allowed him to win.
In 2012, the French investigative outlet Mediapart published what it described as a Libyan intelligence memo referencing a €50 million funding agreement.
Investigators confirmed that the memo was authentic, though no conclusive evidence of a completed transaction has been presented. They also looked into a series of trips by Sarkozy's associates to Libya between 2005 and 2007.
Sarkozy has dismissed the Libya allegations as politically motivated and rooted in forged evidence.
"I will therefore continue to fight step by step for the truth, and for my faith in the wisdom of the court," he said.
Sarkozy said during the trial that he had never accepted any money from Kadhafi.
"You will never ever find a single euro, a single Libyan cent, in my campaign," he said.
The 70-year-old is already serving a one-year prison sentence under house arrest after being found guilty of corruption.
Kyrgyzstan’s economy expanded by 11.5 percent in the first seven months of 2025, reaching 9.9 billion U.S. dollars, official data shows....
U.S. President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart have arrived in Alaska for his high-stakes summit with Russia's Vladimir Putin after saying he...
Gold prices were steady on Friday but remained on track for a weekly decline, as stronger-than-expected U.S. inflation data dampened expectations for ...
The California Coastal Commission on Thursday voted against a proposal by Elon Musk’s SpaceX to almost double its permitted annual Falcon 9 rocket l...
Donald Trump travelled to Alaska on Friday for what he described as a “high-stakes” summit with Russian president Vladimir Putin, aimed at securin...
France, Germany and Britain have warned they are prepared to reinstate United Nations sanctions on Iran if it does not return to negotiations over its nuclear programme, according to a letter sent to the U.N. on Tuesday.
French President Emmanuel Macron has formally acknowledged that France waged a war in Cameroon during the country’s struggle for independence - marking the first time Paris has used the term “war” for its actions in that period.
The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) welcomed the Joint Declaration signed on 8 August in Washington. It's after U.S. President Donald Trump hosted Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, who signed an historic declaration for peace.
France's most devastating wildfire in nearly 80 years has been contained after burning through 16,000 hectares of land in the south. Authorities warn the risk of reignition remains.
The world’s biggest dance music festival faces an unexpected setback as a fire destroys its main stage, prompting a last-minute response from organisers determined to keep the party alive in Boom, Belgium.
A powerful eruption at Japan’s Shinmoedake volcano sent an ash plume more than 3,000 metres high on Sunday morning, prompting safety warnings from authorities.
According to the German Research Centre for Geosciences (GFZ), a magnitude 5.7 earthquake struck the Oaxaca region of Mexico on Saturday.
A resumption of Iraq’s Kurdish oil exports is not expected in the near term, sources familiar with the matter said on Friday, despite an announcement by Iraq’s federal government a day earlier stating that shipments would resume immediately.
A magnitude 5.2 earthquake struck 56 kilometres east of Gorgan in northern Iran early Sunday morning, according to preliminary seismic data.
U.S. President Donald Trump said on Friday that Chinese President Xi Jinping assured him China would not invade Taiwan during Trump’s presidency, adding that Xi described himself and China as “very patient.”
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said on Friday that foreign companies are welcome to do business in Brazil, speaking at the opening of a Chinese automaker’s factory in Sao Paulo state.
Serbian police used teargas and crowd control vehicles in Belgrade on Friday evening to disperse anti-government protesters who threw firecrackers and flares at officers, marking a sharp escalation in the nine-month-long demonstrations.
U.S. President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart have arrived in Alaska for his high-stakes summit with Russia's Vladimir Putin after saying he wants to see a ceasefire in the war in Ukraine "today."
Gold prices were steady on Friday but remained on track for a weekly decline, as stronger-than-expected U.S. inflation data dampened expectations for interest rate cuts and shifted market attention to the meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment