French investigative magistrates have ordered former President Nicolas Sarkozy and 12 others to go on trial for the alleged illegal financing of his 2007 presidential campaign by the government of late Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi.
The national financial prosecutor, Jean-François Bohnert, has announced the formal closure of the decade-long investigation. The trial is scheduled to take place from January to April 2025, according to the statement.
This case is the largest and most shocking among multiple corruption investigations involving Sarkozy, who has already been convicted in two other cases. He denies any wrongdoing in all instances.
In the Libya case, Sarkozy is facing charges of illegal campaign financing, embezzlement, passive corruption, and related counts.
The investigation into the Libya case began in 2013, after claims that Gadhafi’s government secretly provided Sarkozy with 50 million euros for his successful 2007 campaign. This amount would surpass the legal campaign funding limit at the time and violate French rules against foreign campaign financing.
The investigation gained momentum when French-Lebanese businessman Ziad Takieddine told news site Mediapart in 2016 that he had personally delivered suitcases from Libya containing 5 million euros ($6.2 million) in cash to Sarkozy and his former chief of staff. However, Takieddine later changed his statement, and Sarkozy attempted to have the investigation closed.
When Sarkozy was president in 2007, he welcomed Gadhafi to France with high honors. Later that year, Sarkozy played a prominent role in NATO-led airstrikes, which ultimately led to the overthrow of Gadhafi’s government in 2011.
In an unrelated case, Sarkozy was sentenced to a year of house arrest for illegal campaign financing during his unsuccessful 2012 reelection bid. He is currently free while the case is pending appeal.
In another case, Sarkozy was found guilty of corruption and influence peddling and sentenced to a year of house arrest in a May 2021 appeals trial. Sarkozy has appealed this decision to France’s highest court, which has temporarily suspended the sentence.
