French prosecutors are demanding a seven-year prison sentence for former President Nicolas Sarkozy over allegations that he accepted money from the late Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi to finance his presidential campaign.
Prosecutors accused Sarkozy and several of his former allies—including ex-Interior Ministers Claude Guéant and Brice Hortefeux, as well as former Budget Minister Éric Woerth—of striking a deal with Gaddafi that they described as “unthinkable, unprecedented, and disgraceful.”
Prosecutors have requested a fine of €300,000 and a seven-year prison sentence for Sarkozy, six years for Guéant, three for Hortefeux, and one for Woerth.
The alleged agreement involved Gaddafi providing millions of euros to fund Sarkozy’s 2007 presidential campaign—his first and only successful election bid. In return, Sarkozy allegedly pledged to use his presidential powers to strengthen France’s diplomatic and business ties with Tripoli and to review the case of Gaddafi’s son-in-law, Abdullah Senussi.
French financial investigators have spent a decade probing claims that Sarkozy’s campaign was financed by Libya.
Sarkozy has repeatedly denied the allegations, insisting he is the victim of a conspiracy linked to France’s NATO-led operation to overthrow Gaddafi in 2011 while he was president. He stated that he will “continue to fight… for the truth and trust in the wisdom of the court.”
