Nicolas Sarkozy on Thursday faced a risk of new legal battle as prosecutors demanded that former Frech president be put to trial on charges over alleged Libyan financing of his 2007 election campaign.
After a decade of investigation, France's financial crimes prosecutors (PNF) said Sarkozy and 13 others should face trial over accusations they sought millions of euros in financing from the regime of late Libyan dictator Moammar Gadhafi for his ultimately victorious campaign.
It is now up to judges to determine whether to move ahead. In general, judges in France follow such prosecutors' requests, though not always.
Sarkozy is accused of corruption, illegal campaign financing and concealing the embezzlement of public funds, the prosecutors said in a statement.
He has always rejected the charges.
The case is the biggest and most shocking of multiple corruption investigations involving Sarkozy. He has been convicted in two others.
In the Libya case, he is charged with illegal campaign financing, embezzling, passive corruption and related counts.
Sarkozy has been under investigation in the Libya case since 2013. Investigators examined claims that Gadhafi’s government secretly gave Sarkozy 50 million euros ($54.5 million) for 2007 French campaign.
The sum would be more than double the legal campaign funding limit at the time, 21 million euros, and would violate French rules against foreign campaign financing.
The investigation gained traction when French-Lebanese businessman Ziad Takieddine told news site Mediapart in 2016 that he had delivered suitcases from Libya containing 5 million euros in cash to Sarkozy and his former chief of staff. Takieddine later reversed course and Sarkozy sought to have the investigation closed.
After becoming president in 2007, Sarkozy welcomed Gadhafi to France with high honors later that year. Sarkozy then put France at the forefront of NATO-led airstrikes that helped rebel fighters topple Gadhafi’s government in 2011.
In an unrelated case, Sarkozy was sentenced to a year of house arrest for illegal campaign financing of his unsuccessful 2012 re-election bid. In another, he was found guilty of corruption and influence peddling and given a year in prison. Sarkozy remains free while both cases are pending appeal.
