Suspicions of Libyan financing: Sarkozy’s trial begins this Monday, we summarize the case for you

In 2012accusations of Libyan financing of Nicolas Sarkozy’s campaign for the 2007 presidential election, launched the previous year by Muammar Gaddafi’s son, Saïf al-Islam, are becoming clearer: Mediapart publishes a note affirming that Tripoli would have, in 2006, gave its agreement for financing of 50 million euros.

Nicolas Sarkozy files a complaint. An investigation for “falseness” will result in a dismissal of the case, definitive in 2019.

2 Opening of a judicial investigation

May 3, 2012the former Libyan Prime Minister al-Baghdadi al-Mahmoudi, imprisoned in Tunisia, affirms, according to comments reported by his Tunisian lawyers, that Libya did finance Nicolas Sarkozy’s 2007 campaign. In the evening, a French lawyer also claiming to represent him denied the comments of his Tunisian colleagues.

In DecemberFranco-Lebanese businessman Ziad Takieddine claims before a judge that he has proof of this Libyan financing. April 19, 2013the Paris public prosecutor’s office opens a judicial investigation against X.

3 Guéant Paintings

End of April2013Le Canard chainé reveals that a search of the former Minister of the Interior Claude Guéant revealed a payment of 500,000 euros from abroad. The latter justifies this sum by the sale of two master paintings in 2008. The 7thMarch 2015the former minister is indicted for forgery, use of forgery and laundering of tax fraud by an organized gang.

4 New accusations

In 2016the notebook of Choukri Ghanem, former Libyan Minister of Oil who died four years earlier, was transmitted to investigators. He mentions three payments in 2007 intended for Nicolas Sarkozy, totaling at least 6.5 million euros.

The 15thnovemberZiad Takieddine claims, in a video published by Mediapart, to have given five million euros in cash, from Libya, in 2006 and 2007 to Nicolas Sarkozy and Claude Guéant. In 2020, Guéant will have Ziad Takieddine convicted of defamation. The latter is indicted the 7thDecember 2016in particular for complicity in corruption and influence peddling.

The 8January 2018the Franco-Algerian businessman Alexandre Djouhri, suspected of having served as an intermediary, is arrested in London. Extradited to France, he will be indicted for active corruption two years later.

5 Indictments

The 21stMarch 2018Nicolas Sarkozy is indicted for passive corruption, illegal financing of an electoral campaign and concealment of Libyan public funds. The 29thmayÉric Woerth, former treasurer of the campaign, is in turn indicted for complicity in illegal financing. The judges aggravate the charges against Claude Guéant, the 11thseptemberwith new indictments notably for passive corruption.

Then, the 16thoctober
2020Nicolas Sarkozy is once again indicted, this time for “criminal conspiracy”. Two months later, Claude Guéant and another ex-minister, Brice Hortefeux, were in turn for the same reason.

6 Witness tampering

The 11thNovember 2020Ziad Takieddine, on the run in Lebanon, clears the former head of state in the French press and accuses the former investigating judge in charge of the case, Serge Tournaire, of having distorted his remarks. But, auditioned in Beirut by the French judges the 14thJanuary 2021Takieddine once again incriminates the former head of state.

A judicial investigation is open in June2021 for witness tampering and criminal conspiracy regarding Takieddine’s temporary retraction. A dozen people are implicated to varying degrees, including Nicolas Sarkozy, Carla Bruni-Sarkozy and the queen of the celebrity press, Mimi Marchand.

7 End of investigations

End of 2021the Court of Cassation sweeps away the last procedural appeal filed by Nicolas Sarkozy. The 21stOctober 2022the investigating judges complete their investigation. The 24thAugust 2023two financial magistrates sign the referral of the ex-president to the criminal court.

8 Trial Kicks Off

It is therefore more than twelve years after the first revelations that Nicolas Sarkozy will be judged alongside eleven other people, from this Monday 6Januaryuntil April 10. A trial with, therefore, a former President of the Republic, but also three former ministers under the ex-president among the defendants: Claude Guéant, former secretary general of the President and former Minister of the Interior, Brice Hortefeux, who was Minister of Immigration, then of Labor and finally of the Interior, and Éric Woerth, former treasurer of the 2007 campaign, and former Minister of the Budget, then of Labor.