He served only one term at the Élysée Palace (2007-2012), but his legacy, both as “hyper-president” (as he was dubbed for his style) and after he left office, continues to be scrutinized.
On Wednesday, Nicolas Sarkozy’s conviction for corruption and influence was upheld and he received a three-year sentence, one of the years effective in prison in the wiretapping case, also known as the Bismuth case. The court of second instance ordered the defendant to serve one year of house arrest with an electronic bracelet and banned him from performing public functions for three years. However, the defense lawyer announced that he would appeal the verdict to the Court of Cassation, the highest instance of the French judicial system, so that the verdict would remain ineffective.
The 68-year-old former head of state was convicted of offenses dating back to 2013. At the time, Sarkozy was being investigated for another case – the financing of the 2007 campaign – and the wiretap revealed that a telephone line was only used between the former – leader and his friend and lawyer Thierry Herzog.
During the court hearings, the wiretaps revealed what the prosecution said was a corruption pact with Gilbert Azibert, then prosecutor at the Court of Cassation. In exchange for a judicial office in Monaco, Azibert would positively influence an appeal in the Bettencourt case. (Sarkozy was ultimately not charged in this case in which billionaire Liliane Bettencourt allegedly made payments to the UMP and received a €30 million tax deduction).
For Chief Justice Sophie Clément, Nicolas Sarkozy “used his status as a former president to further his personal interests”, an “abuse” that “requires a strong criminal response”. Jacqueline Lafont, Sarkozy’s lawyer, said the decision was “staggering, unjust and unfair”.
Herzog and Azibert received similar sentences and are also appealing the sentence. But the former president has more statements to make in court.
Bygmalion
In 2021, Nicolas Sarkozy was also sentenced to one year in prison for illegally financing the 2012 election campaign, which he lost to François Hollande. The investigation revealed a bogus billing scheme between his party, UMP – now Republicans – and the Bygmalion communications agency to hide the legal cap on election spending. Of the 14 convicted, 13 appealed. The appeals court will take the case for a month, starting in November.
Libyan funding
Last week, financial crime prosecutors advised investigating judges to bring Nicolas Sarkozy and 12 others to trial on suspicion of receiving money from the Libyan regime, then led by Muammar Gaddafi, for the 2007 presidential campaign.
According to the finance prosecutor, Sarkozy should be tried for the crimes of concealment or misappropriation of public funds, passive corruption, illegal financing of election campaigns and criminal association, for which he could face up to 10 years in prison. Judges have until June 10 to decide whether to proceed with the case. Sarkozy had already been heard on the subject at four sessions in 2020. “There was not a single Libyan penny, in cash or wire transfer, to fund my campaign,” he said at the time.
Qatar World Cup
In April, anti-corruption organization Anticor sued the former president, among other things, for alleged corruption in the awarding of the 2022 FIFA World Cup to Qatar. The association bases the complaint on Mediapart’s journalistic investigation into the role of publicist François de La Brosse, who was a communications consultant at the Élysée and whose company ZNZ allegedly benefited from contracts with companies in Qatar.
Anticor, which also points the finger at Claude Guéant and Hamad Bin Jassim al Thani, Sarkozy’s advisor and then Prime Minister of Qatar, respectively, wants to address the circumstances that led to the controversial decision taken by FIFA after a meeting at the Elysee that brought Sarkozy together with Michel Platini, then president of UEFA, and the crown prince of Qatar, Tamin bin Hamad al Thani, who became emir in 2013.
Reso guarantee
Mediapart also reported that Sarkozy received half a million euros from the Russian insurance company Reso-Garantia in 2020.
Leaders convicted in the V Republic
The sentencing of Nicolas Sarkozy to one year effective prison – to be confirmed in the final instance – is unprecedented, but it is not the first time that former French heads of state or government have been convicted in court.
The first was Alain Juppe. Prime Minister between 1995 and 1997, mayor of Bordeaux for more than 20 years and current member of the Constitutional Council, was sentenced to 14 months suspended sentence in 2004 for the scandal of fictitious jobs in the Parisian commune when he was a financial assistant at the capital. In 2011, former President Jacques Chirac received a two-year suspended prison sentence for corruption in the same case, when he was mayor of Paris.
Édith Cresson, Prime Minister between 1991 and 1992, was convicted by the EU Court of Justice in 2006 of favoritism as a European Commissioner, although she was not sentenced.
Finally, in 2022, former Prime Minister François Fillon was sentenced on appeal to four years in prison, three of which were suspended, for creating a fictitious job for his wife as a parliamentary assistant. Fillon appealed to the Supreme Court.
Source: DN
