Alleged Libyan financing in the 2007 French presidential election

Libya allegedly bankrolled the presidential campaign of Nicolas Sarkozy with up to €50 million in pay-outs. Sarkozy has denied wrongdoing and rejected suggestions he was a Libyan agent of influence during his tenure as president of France. He has since officially been convicted of corruption in 2021.^[2]

Nicolas Sarkozy's (left) 2007 presidential campaign allegedly received, through intermediaries, up to €50 million from Libya's Muammar Gaddafi (right).^[1]

Background

2007 election

In May 2007, Nicolas Sarkozy was elected President of France in a six-point victory over Ségolène Royal.^[3] Sarkozy officially spent €21 million on his campaign.^[4] The size of the campaign spend, relative to those seen in United States elections, prompted French scholar Sophie Meunier to later declare that "French politicians are, therefore, not enslaved to special interests or Super-PACs as they are in the U.S."^[4]

During the 2007 French election, candidates were limited to spending no more than €21 million, and no single person could donate in excess of €7500 to a candidate.^[5] In addition, the sources of donations had to be publicly declared and contributions from foreign nationals were prohibited.^[6]

Libyan détente and later reversal

In December 2007, following Sarkozy's inauguration as President of France, Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi visited the country on Sarkozy's invitation, over the objections of both the political opposition and members of Sarkozy's government.^[7] Gaddafi's visit to France was his first in over 35 years; during the trip, France agreed to sell Libya 21 Airbus aircraft, and the two countries signed a nuclear cooperation agreement.^[7] Negotiations for the sale of over a dozen French Dassault Rafale fighter jets, plus military helicopters, were also initiated during Gaddafi's visit.^[8]

In 2011, France, under Sarkozy, voted for international military intervention in the Libyan Civil War against the Gaddafi government in United Nations Security Council Resolution 1973 and, subsequently, attacked Libyan government forces in Opération Harmattan, in support of the National Transitional Council.^[9] France stated the move was to protect Libyan civilians.

Allegations

The same month that French forces were committed to the Libyan conflict, Saif-al-Islam Gaddafi, a son of Muammar Gaddafi, gave an interview to Euronews in which he first publicly claimed that the Libyan state had donated €50 million to Sarkozy's 2007 presidential campaign in exchange for access and favours by Sarkozy.^[10][11] He was quoted as saying: "We funded it and we have all the details and are ready to reveal everything. The first thing we want this clown to do is to give the money back to the Libyan people. He was given assistance so that he could help them. But he's disappointed us: give us back our money."^[12] Sarkozy rejected the claim by Gaddafi.^[10]

 

The sale of two Andries van Eertvelt (pictured) paintings by Claude Guéant has become a central question in the investigation.

The following October, the claim that Libya had funded Sarkozy's 2007 election campaign was repeated by former Libyan prime minister Baghdadi Mahmudi.^[10] Investigative website Mediapart subsequently published several documents appearing to prove payment of €50 million and also published a claim by Ziad Takieddine that he had personally handed three briefcases full of cash to Sarkozy.^[10][13] French magistrates later acquired the diaries of former Libyan oil minister Shukri Ghanem in which payments to Sarkozy were mentioned.^[14] Shortly thereafter, however, Ghanem was found dead, floating in the Danube in Austria and thereby preventing his corroboration of the diaries.^[11][14]

In 2014, television station France 3 released an audio recording made by Delphine Minoui on March 16, 2011, during which Minoui interviewed Muammar Gaddafi.^[15] In the recording, Gaddafi told Minoui that Sarkozy had approached him seeking funds for his presidential election campaign while still serving as French interior minister.^[15]

In February 2018, the Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper quoted a source alleging that Sarkozy had promised Libyan representatives improved relations between France and Libya should he be elected president and that he would wrap up the matter of the bombing of UTA Flight 772.^[16] As recently as 2018, Saif al-Islam reiterated his 2011 claim, and since also added that a former officer of the Libyan intelligence service was at that time in possession of a recording of a meeting between Muammar Gaddafi and Sarkozy that occurred in Tripoli in 2007, during which payments were discussed.^[17]

Investigation

In 2013 the Central Directorate of the Judicial Police (DCPJ) officially opened an investigation into the allegations of Libyan funding of Sarkozy's 2007 election campaign.^[18][19] In March 2018, Sarkozy-era interior minister Brice Hortefeux voluntarily appeared before French police for questioning.^[13] Several arrests have been made in relation to the inquiry.

Arrests and charges

Name	Arrested?	Charged?	Background and status
Claude Guéant	Yes March 6, 2015	Yes March 7, 2015	Guéant, the former chief of staff to Sarkozy, was arrested and charged in March 2015 with money laundering and forgery in relation to the alleged Libyan funding affair.^[20] According to investigators, Guéant helped facilitate the transfer of Libyan funds and may have received $500,000 for his efforts, however, Guéant has claimed the money came from his sale of two Andries van Eertvelt paintings to a Malaysian attorney, with the sale arranged by Saudi businessman Khalid Bugshan.^[21] Authorities allege the transfer of the paintings, which were competitively valued at $35,000, was organized by Bugshan as a means of laundering the purported Libyan payment.^[21]
Khalid Ali Bugshan	Yes March 6, 2015	No	Saudi businessman Khalid Ali Bugshan was taken into police custody for questioning the same day as Claude Guéant.^[22]
François Guéant	Yes March 30, 2015	No	François Guéant, the son of Claude Guéant, was taken into police custody in March 2015 for questioning over the alleged affair in a matter separate from his father's sale of van Eertvelt paintings.^[23]
Alexandre Djouhri	Yes January 9, 2018	No	Djouhri was arrested by British police at Heathrow Airport on a European Arrest Warrant which had been issued after he refused to appear at a court in Paris for questioning over the Libyan affair.^[24] Djouhri resisted extradition to France, with attorneys claiming the inquiry was politically motivated and expressing concern about French prison conditions.^[25] He was released on $1.4 million bail pending the outcome of his appeal of the arrest warrant, but was ultimately returned to France and placed in pre-trial detention in advance of a hearing scheduled for March 28, 2018^[25]^[26] Djouhri, a French citizen of Algerian heritage who resides in Switzerland, is alleged to have sold a €4.4 million villa in the south of France to the Bashir Saleh Bashir-managed Libya Africa Investment Portfolio for €10 million.^[27] The overpayment was purportedly used to launder funds to Sarkozy.^[27]
Nicolas Sarkozy	Yes March 20, 2018	Yes March 21, 2018	Sarkozy was detained by French police for questioning in March 2018, during which he was held at the Nanterre station of the DCPJ, west of Paris.^[18]^[6] On March 21 he was charged with corruption.^[2]^[28] Officially, Sarkozy is under formal investigation, meaning judicial authorities have been presented with sufficient evidence by police to begin a full inquiry by an investigating magistrate, which would possibly lead to a trial.^[29]

Reaction

Sarkozy's political party, The Republicans, issued a statement following his arrest in which it said the former president had the party's full support.^[30] Spokesman Christian Jacob later suggested that the accusations against Sarkozy were politically motivated.^[30]

Following Sarkozy's arrest, Eric Ciotti expressed confidence the former president would be exonerated.^[31]

On 1 March 2021, Sarkozy was convicted of different corruption charges, after investigators looking into the Libyan finance allegations wiretapped conversations between Sarkozy and his lawyer, Thierry Herzog.^[32] On 17 May 2023 this conviction was confirmed by The Paris Court of Appeals as was the sentence of three years in jail: two of them suspended and one to be served as house arrest wearing an electronic tag. Sarkozy said he would appeal the verdict to the Court of Cassation, France's top court.^[33]

On October 6, 2023, Nicolas Sarkozy was indicted for “concealment of witness tampering” and “participation in a criminal association with a view to committing the offense of fraud in judgment in an organized gang” and was also placed under arrest. status of assisted witness for “participation in a criminal conspiracy with a view to committing the offense of active corruption of foreign judicial personnel” in Lebanon as part of the investigation into the retraction of witness Ziad Takieddine.^[34]

See also

• Bettencourt affair
• France–Libya relations
• London School of Economics Gaddafi links

Notes

References

1. Aurelien Breeden (March 23, 2018). "Nicolas Sarkozy and the Libya Investigation: The Key Questions". The New York Times. Retrieved March 24, 2018.
2. Dallison, Paul (March 21, 2018). "Nicolas Sarkozy charged with corruption". Politico. Retrieved March 21, 2018.
3. "The Gaullist revolutionary". The Economist. May 10, 2007. Retrieved March 20, 2018.
4. Meunier, Sophie (March 3, 2010). "The French Presidency Is a Bargain". HuffPost. Retrieved March 20, 2018.
5. Christopher, Brennan (March 20, 2018). "Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy in custody over Gaddafi money scandal". New York Daily News. Retrieved March 20, 2018.
6. Kennedy, Dana (March 20, 2018). "Gaddafi's Ghost Takes Revenge as France's Ex-President Sarkozy Detained for Questioning". Daily Beast. Retrieved March 20, 2018.
7. "Gaddafi visit seals French deals". BBC News. December 10, 2007. Retrieved March 20, 2018.
8. Walt, Vivienne (December 14, 2007). "French Defense Execs Woo Gaddafi". Time. Retrieved March 20, 2018.
9. Elliott, Michael (March 19, 2011). "Viewpoint: How Libya Became a French and British War". Time. Retrieved March 20, 2018.
10. Chazan, David. "Sarkozy aide charged with money laundering". Telegraph. from the original on January 5, 2013. Retrieved August 18, 2016.
11. "Explained: What we know about the Gaddafi-Sarkozy funding scandal". euronews. March 20, 2018. Retrieved March 20, 2018.
12. . Euronews. March 16, 2011. Archived from the original on March 20, 2018. Retrieved March 20, 2018.
13. "French police hold ex-president Sarkozy over 'Gaddafi funding'". BBC News. March 20, 2018. Retrieved March 20, 2018.
14. "Gaddafi relations haunt Sarkozy in 2007 campaign financing case". France24. March 20, 2018. Retrieved March 20, 2018.
15. "Gaddafi funded 'mentally deficient' Sarkozy, interview claims". France 24. January 29, 2014. Retrieved March 20, 2018.
16. "Qaddafi regime funded presidential campaigns in US, Ukraine, France". The National. February 19, 2018. Retrieved March 20, 2018.
17. Mumbere, Daniel (March 20, 2018). "Gaddafi's son, Saif al Islam welcomes Sarkozy arrest, offers evidence". Africa News. Retrieved March 20, 2018.
18. Piel, Simon (March 20, 2018). "Financement libyen de la campagne de 2007 : Nicolas Sarkozy en garde à vue En savoir plus sur". Le Monde (in French). Retrieved March 20, 2018.
19. Chrisafis, Angelique (April 19, 2013). "French inquiry opens into allegations Gaddafi funded Sarkozy 2007 campaign". The Guardian. Retrieved March 20, 2018.
20. Chazan, David (March 7, 2015). "Sarkozy aide charged with money laundering". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved March 20, 2018.
21. Lazard, Violette (July 20, 2015). . L'Obs (in French). Archived from the original on March 21, 2018. Retrieved March 20, 2018.
22. "Affaire Guéant: qui est l'homme d'affaires saoudien placé en garde à vue?". L'Express. March 7, 2015. Retrieved March 20, 2018.
23. "Le fils de Guéant en garde à vue dans l'affaire des soupçons de financement libyen de la campagne de Sarkozy". HuffPost France. March 31, 2016. Retrieved March 20, 2018.
24. "UK arrests French suspect in Sarkozy financing probe". France24. January 8, 2018. Retrieved March 20, 2018.
25. "France 'manipulating' case against businessman sought over Sarkozy allegations: lawyer". Reuters. February 22, 2018. Retrieved March 20, 2018.
26. "Sarkozy held in Libya financing probe". Malaysian Insight. March 20, 2018. Retrieved March 20, 2018.
27. Wintour, Patrick (January 10, 2018). "UK court grants £1m bail to man arrested over Sarkozy-Gaddafi inquiry". The Guardian. Retrieved March 20, 2018.
28. "French ex-president Nicolas Sarkozy charged in campaign funding investigation". Deutsche Welle. March 21, 2018. Retrieved March 21, 2018.
29. "Sarkozy placed under formal investigation for illegal campaign financing in Libya probe". France24. March 21, 2018. Retrieved March 21, 2018.
30. Chazan, David (March 20, 2018). "Former French president Nicolas Sarkozy questioned in election financing probe". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved March 20, 2018.
31. "Réaction d'Eric Ciotti à la garde à vue de Nicolas Sarkozy". France Bleu. March 20, 2018. Retrieved March 20, 2018.
32. "Sarkozy corruption conviction rocks French conservatives - POLITICO". POLITICO.EU.
33. "Nicolas Sarkozy loses appeal on corruption conviction". POLITICO. May 17, 2023. Retrieved June 2, 2023.
34. "Nicolas Sarkozy doublement mis en examen dans l'enquête sur la rétractation de Ziad Takieddine". LeMonde (in French). October 6, 2023. Retrieved October 9, 2023.