In the midst of a promotional tour for the publication of his new memoir, Le Temps des combats ("The Time of Battles"), Nicolas Sarkozy was caught up in his legal troubles. The former French president learned on Friday, August 25, that he and 12 other defendants had been referred to a criminal court in connection with the alleged financing of his victorious 2007 election campaign by the Libyan regime of dictator Muammar Gaddafi.
At the end of a 10-year judicial inquiry, investigating judges Aude Buresi and Virginie Tilmont decided that Sarkozy should face trial in this case for concealing the misappropriation of public funds, passive corruption, illegal campaign financing and criminal conspiracy to commit an offense punishable by 10 years imprisonment.
Contacted by Le Monde, the former president's entourage, who dispute the accusations, declined to comment at this stage. But they deplored the "absence of any material evidence" at the end of the investigation. "Nothing conclusive has been found against me," Sarkozy insisted on national television on August 23.
"We need to demystify Mr. Sarkozy's defense arguments. It's very common in these cases of breaches of integrity to be able to gather proof through converging evidence," said Vincent Brengarth, a lawyer for the Sherpa association, the plaintiff. Brengarth praised "the monumental work of the investigating judges in this unprecedented case" and looks forward to "a trial that will leave a very strong mark."
In a press release, the National Financial Prosecutor states that the trial is scheduled to take place between January 6 and April 10, 2025, before the 32nd Chamber of the Paris Correctional Court. For the 68-year-old Sarkozy, this latest judicial ordeal comes on the heels of a string of convictions: three years in prison, including one suspended sentence, for corruption and influence peddling (in the first instance and on appeal) in the Bismuth case (referring to a tapped phone Sarzoky used). There is also one year in prison (in the first instance) for illegal campaign financing in the Bygmalion case (involving alleged false billing from a public relations firm called Bygmalion).
Beyond the former French leader, a whole section of the Sarkozy administration has been referred to the criminal court in the Libyan case exposed by the investigative website Mediapart in July 2011. Former Elysée general secretary and interior minister Claude Guéant will stand trial on a dozen charges, including laundering tax fraud in an organized group, passive corruption and complicity in the illegal financing of an election campaign. According to his lawyer, Philippe Bouchez El Ghozi, "This decision, after more than 10 years of investigation, illustrates the great difficulty of establishing the slightest offense against Mr. Guéant. And with good reason, since my client has always argued that he could not be accused of any offense, which is not seriously contradicted by the decision, and which Mr. Guéant will demonstrate to the court that will have to rule on this case."
You have 65.34% of this article left to read. The rest is for subscribers only.