On this Valentine's Day, the ex-president had an appointment with justice.
Nicolas Sarkozy was sentenced Wednesday on appeal by the Paris Court of Appeal to one year's imprisonment, including six months suspended, in the "Bygmalion" affair, over excessive spending during his lost 2012 presidential campaign. The sentence is
lighter
than that pronounced in first instance which had earned him a year in prison.
The firm part of the sentence will be adjusted, said the president of the court.
Vincent Desry, lawyer for Nicolas Sarkozy, for his part indicated that the latter would appeal to the Court of Cassation.
This affair adds to other legal troubles, behind him or still current, for the former head of state.
Wiretapping case: appeal to the Supreme Court
Last May, the Paris Court of Appeal sentenced Nicolas Sarkozy to three years in prison, including one to be executed under an electronic bracelet, for corruption and influence peddling in the “Bismuth” affair.
The same sentence as that handed down at first instance, in March 2021. The court of appeal also pronounced a three-year ban on civil rights for Nicolas Sarkozy, making him ineligible.
The former president then announced his decision to appeal to the Court of Cassation.
This case is linked to the discovery by the courts, via the tapping of an unofficial telephone line between Nicolas Sarkozy, alias "Bismuth" and his lawyer and friend Thierry Herzog, of a potential corruption pact entered into with Gilbert Azibert, then Advocate General at the Court of Cassation - the highest court in the French judicial system.
The latter is accused of having worked behind the scenes to influence an appeal filed by Nicolas Sarkozy in the Bettencourt affair, in exchange for a “boost” for an honorary position in Monaco.
Libyan financing
of the 2007 campaign: trial expected in 2025
Concerning suspicions of Libyan financing of his 2007 presidential campaign, Nicolas Sarkozy will appear in 2025. The former head of state was indicted on March 21, 2018 for “passive corruption, illegal financing of an electoral campaign and concealment of public funds Libyans”, then on October 12, 2020 for “criminal association”.
Also indicted in this case are the former general secretary of the Élysée Claude Guéant, the former campaign treasurer Éric Woerth and the former minister Brice Hortefeux.
Judges have been investigating since 2013 to determine whether his victorious campaign in 2007 could have benefited from cash from the Gaddafi camp, brought back through Ziad Takieddine and former Libyan dignitaries.
Ziad Takieddine, whose statements have often fluctuated, initially assured that he had transported 5 million euros in cash between Tripoli and Paris.
Following the latter's retraction, Nicolas Sarkozy was also indicted at the beginning of October 2023 for "concealment of witness tampering" and "participation in a criminal association with a view to committing the offense of gang judgment fraud organized”.
In fact opening a second case in the judicial aspect linked to Libyan financing.
Advice in Russia: preliminary investigation still ongoing
Nicolas Sarkozy's lucrative activities in Russia are also the subject of a preliminary investigation by the National Financial Prosecutor's Office (PNF) concerning possible "influence peddling".
Justice is questioning a transfer of 500,000 euros received at the beginning of 2020 by the former head of state as part of a consulting contract with the Russian insurance group Reso-Garantia.
According to Mediapart, which revealed the information, this investigation, which was opened in the summer of 2020, aims to determine whether Nicolas Sarkozy “would have engaged in potentially criminal lobbying activities” on behalf of Russian oligarchs.
Possible corruption pact with a view to the 2022 World Cup: a complaint filed
Since 2019, justice has also been investigating a lunch held in 2010 between Nicolas Sarkozy, then President of the Republic, two senior Qatari leaders (including Hamad Ben Jassem al-Thani, crown prince of Qatar who became emir in 2013) and Michel Platini, who was then president of UEFA.
The objective is to determine whether the vote of the former Blues playmaker in favor of Qatar for the 2022 World Cup was obtained in exchange for compensation.
In this case of potential “give and take”, the Anticor association which filed a complaint against Nicolas Sarkozy in 2023, suspecting the existence of a corruption pact.
Karachi affair: out of the question
Ahead of the 1995 presidential elections, the government of Édouard Balladur - of which Sarkozy was then Budget Minister - allegedly granted significant commissions on arms sales to Pakistan and Saudi Arabia.
Part of these sums would have returned through intermediaries to finance the Balladur campaign, of which Sarkozy was the spokesperson.
Former head of state Nicolas Sarkozy was heard in May 2017 as a simple witness by the judges responsible for the financial aspect of the case.
But he was not directly prosecuted in this case.
On the sidelines of the Karachi trial, the former president was, however, targeted by an investigation for "violation of the secrecy of the investigation" due to a press release from the Élysée in 2011 reporting on the progress of the procedure judicial, even though the executive is not supposed to get involved.
In 2023, the Paris Court of Appeal authorized 3 magistrates to investigate this case.
Élysée polls: out of the question
While Nicolas Sarkozy was President of the Republic, the Élysée is suspected of having concluded several contracts irregularly for the supply of polls.
The former head of state was never prosecuted in this case, in which several of his former collaborators are involved, due to his presidential immunity.
Bettencourt affair: beyond the pale
The former president had been interviewed several times, placed under the status of assisted witness, then indicted for abuse of weakness, influence peddling and concealment.
Nicolas Sarkozy finally benefited from a dismissal of the case in 2013, the investigators having failed to gather sufficient evidence showing that he would have benefited from the state of weakness of Liliane Bettencourt, heir to the L'Oréal group.
Campaign accounts affair: out of question
An investigation opened for breach of trust targeted penalties for exceeding the spending ceiling for Nicolas Sarkozy's 2012 campaign.
They were settled by the UMP, even though the ex-president should have paid them out of his own pocket.
Placed under the status of assisted witness, the former tenant of the Élysée benefited from a dismissal of the case in September 2015, like all the protagonists in this affair.