A Paris court has sentenced former French President Nicolas Sarkozy to five years in prison after finding him guilty of participating in a criminal conspiracy tied to alleged Libyan financing of his 2007 presidential campaign.
The 70-year-old ex-leader, who governed France from 2007 to 2012, was also fined €100,000 (£87,000) but cleared of other charges, including illegal campaign financing and passive corruption.
Despite the conviction, Sarkozy maintains his innocence and has vowed to appeal the ruling, a move that does not automatically suspend the jail term.
“If they want me to sleep in jail, I will sleep in jail, but with my head held high,” Sarkozy told reporters outside the courtroom, calling the judgment a “grave attack on the rule of law.”
French prosecutors alleged that Sarkozy secretly accepted millions of euros from the late Libyan ruler Muammar Gaddafi in exchange for diplomatic favors that would rehabilitate Gaddafi’s pariah regime.
Investigators claimed that between 2005 and 2007, while Sarkozy was serving as interior minister and later running for president, he allowed close aides to solicit and channel Libyan funds into his campaign.
Although the court determined there was not enough proof that Sarkozy personally pocketed the funds, Judge Nathalie Gavarino ruled that he knowingly permitted his associates to pursue illegal financing, amounting to “criminal association.”
The case began in 2013, when Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, son of the late Libyan leader, publicly accused Sarkozy of receiving covert donations to fuel his election bid. A year later, Lebanese-French businessman Ziad Takieddine claimed to have documents showing payments of up to €50 million (£43 million) to Sarkozy’s team, alleging that some transactions continued even after Sarkozy took office.
Takieddine, a key witness, died suddenly of cardiac arrest in Beirut earlier this week at the age of 75, adding another twist to the decade-long saga.
The trial also implicated several of Sarkozy’s political allies. Claude Guéant, former interior minister, was convicted of corruption and related offenses. Brice Hortefeux, another ex-interior minister, was found guilty of criminal conspiracy.
Sarkozy’s wife, Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, faced separate accusations in 2024 of attempting to hide evidence linked to the case, though she has denied all wrongdoing.
Sarkozy, who has faced multiple legal battles since leaving office, remains defiant, insisting the charges are politically motivated and pledging to fight the verdict in higher courts.
Former French President Sarkozy jailed five years over Libya campaign funding scandal