Ex-French President Sarkozy sentenced to five years in Gaddafi funding case.

Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy has been sentenced to five years in prison after being found guilty of criminal conspiracy in a high-profile case linked to illicit campaign funds allegedly provided by late Libyan leader Col. Muammar Gaddafi.

A Paris criminal court ruled that Sarkozy allowed close aides to seek financial support from Libyan officials to bankroll his successful 2007 presidential campaign. While he was acquitted of charges of passive corruption and illegal campaign financing, Judge Nathalie Gavarino said his conduct enabled Gaddafi’s regime to wield influence over French politics.

Prosecutors claimed up to €50 million was funneled from Tripoli into Sarkozy’s campaign coffers. Though there was no conclusive proof he personally accepted the money, the court determined he played a central role in the conspiracy.

The probe, which began in 2013 after Gaddafi’s son Saif al-Islam leveled accusations, was later reinforced by Lebanese businessman Ziad Takieddine, who claimed to possess written evidence of Libyan funding.

Several of Sarkozy’s allies were also convicted, including former interior minister Claude Gueant for corruption and Brice Hortefeux for conspiracy. Sarkozy’s wife, Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, still faces charges of hiding evidence, which she denies.

Sarkozy, who served as president from 2007 to 2012, insists the case is politically motivated. But this latest ruling marks his harshest penalty yet. He had already been sentenced in 2021 for attempting to bribe a judge, and again in 2024 for campaign overspending.

The five-year custodial sentence now places Sarkozy at the center of one of modern France’s most significant political scandals.