Sarkozy Convicted of Criminal Conspiracy in Gaddafi Funds Case; Acquitted on Other Charges

A Paris criminal court on Wednesday convicted former French president Nicolas Sarkozy of criminal conspiracy in a case linked to alleged illicit funding from Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi to finance his 2007 campaign. He was acquitted of all other charges, including passive corruption and illegal campaign financing.

Prosecutors argued that Sarkozy took roughly €50 million through intermediaries connected to Gaddafi and used the funds to finance a high-spending bid to win a second term. They contended the payments continued after Sarkozy’s 2007 election victory and that he promised to help improve Gaddafi’s image with Western leaders in exchange for the support. Sarkozy and his defense team have long maintained there was no proven link between the funds and the campaign, and they described the case as politically motivated. The verdict follows a months-long trial that examined hundreds of transfers, emails and witness testimonies.

The case sits within a broader arc of legal troubles Sarkozy has faced since leaving office in 2012. The inquiry was opened in 2013, two years after Saif al-Islam al-Gaddafi publicly alleged that Sarkozy benefited from Libyan funds. In the years since, Sarkozy has been found guilty in other cases, including a 2021 conviction for attempting to bribe a judge in connection with a 2014 case; that ruling made him the first former French president to receive a custodial sentence, though much of the sentence was later reduced on appeal. In 2024, a separate ruling found him guilty of overspending on his 2012 re-election campaign and using a public-relations firm to hide the overrun. He received a one-year sentence, six months of which were suspended, and in December the Paris appeals court ruled he could serve the sentence at home with an electronic tag rather than in jail.

Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, Sarkozy’s wife, was charged last year with hiding evidence linked to the Gaddafi case and with associating with wrongdoers to commit fraud; she has denied the accusations.

Observers noted that a conviction on criminal conspiracy could lead to a sentencing hearing at a future date, with lawyers expected to appeal. The outcome keeps Sarkozy at the center of France’s most scrutinized political-financial scandals in recent memory, underscoring how former leaders remain entangled in long-running investigations that continue to shape public debate about political financing and transparency in French politics.

For Sarkozy, the verdict closes a significant chapter of a career marked by electoral success and a string of legal battles that have culminated in multiple convictions. For his supporters, the case has been framed as a politically motivated pursuit aimed at tarnishing a former president’s legacy; for critics, it reinforces concerns about the influence of wealth on politics and the durability of legal accountability for people who once occupied the highest offices in the land.