Former President Nicolas Sarkozy must appear before the judiciary on charges of corruption and Libyan financing of his 2007 presidential campaign without legal backing, a French financial prosecutor said.
Prosecutors are investigating allegations that Muammar Gaddafi funneled millions of euros in cash to Sarkozy’s election campaign.
Sarkozy is one of 13 people to appear in court, the financial prosecutor said, pointing out that the charges against him include “money laundering, bribery, illegal campaign financing and conspiracy with intent to commit a punishable offence”. Imprisonment for ten years.”
Sarkozy has always denied these allegations. Neither his aides nor his attorneys responded to a request for comment.
Sarkozy previously said in an interview in 2018 that there was “not a shred of evidence” and that the allegations had made his life hell.
Sarkozy faces legal problems on several fronts. In March 2021, he was sentenced to three years in prison, two of which were suspended, for bribery and influence peddling in a separate case. Court of Appeal judges will deliver their verdict in that case next week.
He was sentenced to a year in prison in 2012 after being convicted of illegal campaign financing after failing to win a second term. He has appealed the conviction.
The financial prosecutor said in his statement that on Thursday, the parties involved will have an opportunity to present their support for the position to the trial judge in the case, who will decide whether to follow the plaintiff’s recommendations.
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