Sarkozy convicted of criminal conspiracy in Libya campaign finance trial
A Paris court on Thursday convicted former French president Nicolas Sarkozy on charges of criminal conspiracy in connection with allegations that late Libyan leader Moamer Kadhafi helped finance his 2007 presidential campaign. The court, however, acquitted Sarkozy of corruption, embezzlement, and accepting illegal campaign funds. Sarkozy, 70, who led France from 2007 to 2012, has consistently denied any wrongdoing. He has already been convicted in two other cases and was stripped of the Legion of Honour, France’s highest distinction. Presiding judge Nathalie Gavarino said Sarkozy, as a minister and party leader at the time, “allowed his close collaborators and political supporters over whom he had authority and who acted in his name” to engage with Libyan officials to secure financial support. Prosecutors had requested a seven-year prison sentence, though sentencing is expected later in the hearing. Sarkozy attended the verdict […]