The Guardian : Nicolas Sarkozy Faces Trial for Taking illegal Funds from Gaddafi

By Staff, Agencies

According to a report by British newspaper the Guardian, former French President Nicolas Sarkozy is being tried for allegedly receiving illegal campaign funds from Gaddafi's regime, in the largest scandal in modern French politics.

The trial of the former French president and 12 others, including three former ministers, for conspiracy to receive large-scale foreign funds threatens to further lower voters' distrust of the French political class.

The court will hear allegations of a corruption pact between Sarkozy and the Libyan regime, where intermediaries illegally funded his 2007 presidential campaign in Paris, as per the Guardian.

The court will examine whether, in exchange for funding Sarkozy’s presidential campaign, the Libyan regime requested diplomatic, legal and business favours.

One of these alleged requests for favours related to Abdullah al-Senussi, Gaddafi’s spy chief and enforcer, as noted by the Guardian

Senussi was sentenced in absentia to life in 1999 by a French court for the UTA plane bombing. Allegedly, the Libyan regime asked Sarkozy’s team to lift France’s arrest warrant against Senussi.

Laure Heinich, representing 15 UTA bombing victims' relatives, said they were shocked by the suggestion of exchanging the killer's arrest for money.

Sarkozy has denied all wrongdoing in the case.

The trial will explore Sarkozy's ties to Gaddafi, known for human rights abuses and terrorism connections, including the 1988 Lockerbie bombing.

According to the report, Sarkozy's entourage met with Gaddafi's regime in Libya in 2005. As French president in 2007, he welcomed Gaddafi for a state visit in Paris, the first since the 1980s due to Gaddafi's pariah status.

He already has two convictions, including corruption charges and was made to wear an electronic tag after trying to influence a judge, a first for a former head of state.

If convicted of corruption, Sarkozy faces up to 10 years in prison with Guéant and Hortefeux, former ministers.

In a separate trial, Sarkozy was convicted of concealing election overspending in 2012 and has lodged an appeal.