By Gloria Nosa
Former French president Nicolas Sarkozy has been handed a five-year prison sentence after a Paris court found him guilty of playing a central role in a sprawling criminal conspiracy that funneled millions of dollars from the late Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi into his political campaign.
The ruling, delivered by Judge Nathalie Gavarino at the Paris Correctional Court on Wednesday, marks a historic moment in French politics — the first time a former head of state has been convicted for conspiring to use foreign funds in a presidential election campaign.
Sarkozy, now 70, was convicted of conspiring with senior aides to secretly channel around $50 million of laundered cash from Libya into his 2007 presidential bid. The funds, prosecutors argued, were part of a “corruption pact” that helped lift Sarkozy to the Élysée Palace while giving Libya a pathway to repair its pariah status on the global stage.
Although he was acquitted of “receiving stolen public funds” and “passive corruption,” Sarkozy was found guilty of criminal conspiracy and faces the maximum sentence allowed under French law. He has been ordered to pay a fine of €100,000 and has up to one month to report to prison, though his legal team has vowed to appeal.
Other top figures from Sarkozy’s inner circle were also convicted. Claude Guéant, his former chief of staff, was sentenced to six years behind bars for bribery, forgery, and influence peddling, though his age and frail health may spare him incarceration. Brice Hortefeux, another longtime ally and ex-minister, received a two-year sentence to be served under electronic monitoring.
Central to the trial was testimony about suitcases of cash allegedly delivered by Ziad Takieddine, a Lebanese arms dealer linked to the late Gaddafi. Takieddine, who prosecutors said acted as the middleman for the illicit transfers, was found dead in Beirut earlier this week at the age of 75, just days before the verdict.
Despite the damning judgment, Sarkozy has continued to deny wrongdoing, dismissing the case as politically motivated and built on false testimony. “You will never find a single cent from Libya in my campaign,” he told the court during his defense.
The sentencing deepens the former president’s legal troubles. Sarkozy has already been convicted in separate cases of bribing a judge and of illegal campaign financing. With this latest verdict, his once towering political legacy now faces the shadow of disgrace.
