Sarkozy was found guilty of taking part in a criminal association but was cleared of corruption charges after Gavarin found that he had permitted his “close collaborators” and “unofficial intermediaries” to try “to obtain or attempt to obtain financial backing for his campaign” for the presidency between 2005 and 2007.
Those attempts included “meetings with Gadhafi’s official representatives” and “arranging transfers of public funds.” The court however said it could not establish with certainty that Libyan money reached Sarkozy’s campaign coffers.
Sarkozy was acquitted of the corruption charge because Gavarino ruled there was no proof he worked to implement a supposed deal struck by his associates — including future Interior Minister Claude Guéant — and Abdullah Senussi, Gadhafi’s brother-in-law and former intelligence chief, in 2005. Guéant was found guilty but escaped prison time due to poor health.
Gadhafi’s regime was reportedly seeking a pardon for Senussi, who was convicted and sentenced to life in prison in France for his role in the bombing of a flight from Brazzaville, the capital of the Republic of Congo, to Paris in 1989. All 170 people on board were killed.
Gavarino concluded there was enough evidence that such a meeting took place and that Sarkozy’s team had pledged to review Senussi’s file — even without a guarantee of a pardon — and to normalize diplomatic relations with Libya before the election.
Before Thursday, Sarkozy had repeatedly professed his innocence and claimed to be the victim of a smear campaign coordinated by Gadhafi’s allies after the former French president led the NATO effort to overthrow the Libyan dictator in 2011.