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3h ago

Sarkozy Convicted of Criminal Association in Libya Case, Sentenced to Five Years as Court Rejects Corruption

An immediate appeal follows under an execution provisoire keeping the prison term enforceable.

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Nicolas Sarkozy a été reconnu coupable d’association de malfaiteurs jeudi 25 septembre 2025, dans l’affaire du financement libyen de sa campagne de 2007.
(FILES) Franco-Lebanese businessman Ziad Takieddine speaks to media as he arrives at Paris courthouse on October 7, 2019 on the first day of the trial for the financial aspect of "the Karachi case", an alleged arms deal kickbacks said to have funded the 1995 presidential campaign of Edouard Balladur. Takieddine, the main accuser of Nicolas Sarkozy in the investigation into alleged Libyan funding of his 2007 presidential campaign, died on the morning of September 23, 2025, in Beirut, his French lawyer Elise Arfi told AFP, confirming a report in Le Point magazine. (Photo by Bertrand GUAY / AFP)

Overview

  • Paris judges found Nicolas Sarkozy guilty of association de malfaiteurs over efforts to seek Libyan support for his 2007 campaign, while acquitting him of corruption, receipt of public funds and illegal campaign financing after finding no proof Libyan money funded the race.
  • He received five years in prison with a mandat de dépôt différé and execution provisoire, plus a €100,000 fine and five years of ineligibility and loss of civic rights, with incarceration to be scheduled by the authorities in the coming weeks.
  • The court underscored that preparatory and facilitative acts were established even though the material elements of corruption were not, diverging from the PNF’s request for seven years based on an alleged pact with Muammar Kadhafi.
  • Close associates were also convicted: Claude Guéant was sentenced to six years and fined for multiple offenses including corruption passive and forgery, Brice Hortefeux received two years (amenageable under electronic monitoring), and former treasurer Éric Woerth was acquitted.
  • Following the death in Beirut of key intermediary Ziad Takieddine, the tribunal declared the extinction of proceedings against him, while Sarkozy condemned the verdict, maintained his innocence and announced an appeal.