Sarkozy found guilty of criminal conspiracy in Gaddafi funding scandal...

Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy has been found guilty of criminal conspiracy in a long-running case over allegations that he received millions of euros from late Libyan leader, Muammar Gaddafi, to fund his 2007 election campaign.

The court on Thursday sentenced Nicolas Sarkozy to five years in prison.

The Paris criminal court, however, cleared Sarkozy of other charges, including passive corruption and illegal campaign financing.

Prosecutors alleged that Sarkozy’s successful 2007 campaign benefited from up to €50m (£42m) illicitly funneled from Gaddafi’s regime. Sarkozy has denied all wrongdoing, dismissing the case as politically motivated.

The probe first opened in 2013 after Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, son of the late Libyan leader, accused Sarkozy of accepting funds. In 2014, Lebanese businessman Ziad Takieddine claimed he had proof that millions in cash were handed over to Sarkozy’s team.

The scandal also ensnared Sarkozy’s wife, Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, the Italian-born former supermodel and singer.

CBI News reports that she was charged last year with allegedly hiding evidence linked to the Gaddafi case and associating with wrongdoers to commit fraud, charges she denies.

Since leaving the Élysée Palace in 2012, Sarkozy has faced a string of criminal cases.

In 2021, he was convicted of trying to bribe a judge in 2014, becoming the first former French president to receive a custodial sentence.

In February 2024, he was found guilty of overspending on his 2012 re-election campaign and hiring a PR firm to cover it up. He received a one-year sentence, with six months suspended.

In December, the Paris appeals court ruled he could serve his term at home with an electronic tag, rather than in prison.

Sarkozy, who served as French president from 2007 to 2012, has repeatedly described the multiple investigations as attempts to destroy his political career.