Overview
- Sarkozy, testifying in Paris since Tuesday, accused former chief of staff Claude Guéant of errors and possible self-enrichment tied to Libyan contacts.
- Guéant has missed the appeal hearings for health reasons, with his lawyer calling the claims extremely grave, desperate, and unsupported by concrete facts.
- Asked about cash movements, Sarkozy said Guéant’s handling of large sums was “extremely strange” and said it is for Guéant to provide credible explanations.
- Court filings cited in coverage allege Guéant accepted a luxury watch and then €500,000 from intermediary Alexandre Djouhri, which he allegedly did not declare to tax authorities.
- In the first trial, judges sentenced Sarkozy to five years and Guéant to six in a case tied to alleged 2005 contacts with Libyan security chief Abdallah Senoussi, who is serving a life term in France for the UTA DC‑10 bombing.