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Sarkozy Convicted of Criminal Conspiracy in Libya Funding Case With Five-Year Prison Term

Judges concluded he allowed aides to pursue Libyan money for 2007 with a sentence enforceable despite appeal.

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)
Nicolas Sarkozy au tribunal à Paris lors de son procès pour financement illégal de campagne, le 27 mars 2025
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Overview

  • The Paris criminal court found Nicolas Sarkozy guilty of association de malfaiteurs and acquitted him of corruption, illegal campaign financing and receipt of misused Libyan public funds.
  • He received five years in prison with exécution provisoire and a deferred arrest warrant, plus a €100,000 fine and five years of ineligibility and public-function ban, with a summons set for October 13 to fix his incarceration date.
  • The court said he let close collaborators solicit Libyan authorities before May 15, 2007, but it did not establish that Libyan funds were ultimately used to finance the campaign.
  • Claude Guéant was convicted and sentenced to six years and a €250,000 fine, Brice Hortefeux was sentenced to two years under electronic monitoring and a €50,000 fine, and intermediaries Alexandre Djouhri, Khaled Bugshan and Wahib Nacer received multi‑year terms and multi‑million‑euro fines.
  • Proceedings against Ziad Takieddine were extinguished after his death in Beirut, Éric Woerth and two others were acquitted, the PNF had sought seven years for Sarkozy, and the former president says he will appeal.