Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy has been sentenced to five years in prison after being found guilty of criminal conspiracy for receiving campaign funding from late Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi. A Paris court ruled that Sarkozy, who led France from 2007 to 2012, benefited from secret payments linked to his 2007 presidential campaign. The court ordered him to begin serving the term, although the start date will be set later, and he can appeal the decision.

The case originated in 2011 when Gaddafi’s son Saif al-Islam claimed that his father had financed Sarkozy’s campaign with approximately €50 million. In 2012, Lebanese businessman Ziad Takieddine alleged that he had delivered €5 million from Tripoli to Paris in 2006, but he later withdrew the claim. French authorities launched a formal investigation in 2013.

Prosecutors argued that Sarkozy made a deal with Gaddafi in 2005, while serving as interior minister, to secure campaign funds in exchange for supporting Libya’s reintegration into the global community. The court convicted Sarkozy of conspiracy but acquitted him of passive corruption, illegal campaign financing, and concealment of embezzlement.

During the trial, Sarkozy denied the charges, describing them as politically motivated and a “plot” by the “Gaddafi clan.” He also called his accusers “liars and crooks.” Prosecutors had sought a seven-year prison sentence.

Sarkozy, 70, has a history of legal issues. In December 2024, France’s highest court upheld a corruption and influence-peddling conviction from 2021, ordering him to wear an electronic tag for a year. He was also sentenced for illegal campaign financing related to his failed 2012 re-election bid and served the term at home under monitoring. Earlier in 2025, he was stripped of the Legion of Honor due to rules that remove members given prison terms of at least one year.

The conviction and sentencing of Sarkozy mark a significant development in the case, which has been ongoing since January. The court’s ruling that the conspiracy occurred between 2005 and 2007, before Sarkozy gained presidential immunity, has implications for his future. As he can appeal the decision, the outcome of the case may be delayed, but the sentencing reinforces the gravity of the charges against him.