On Wednesday, lawyers for the Libyan authorities demanded compensation of 10 million euros from former French President Nicolas Sarkozy and five other defendants, in the case of Libyan financing of his campaign for the 2007 elections, due to “the moral and material damage” caused to the Libyan people, “as they suffered for 42 years under the rule of Muammar Gaddafi’s tyrannical regime.” During his first-degree trial, the Criminal Court convicted Sarkozy of forming a "criminal gang" and sentenced him to five years' imprisonment.
Published on: 05/06/2026 - 22:11
The defense of the Libyan authorities called on the French judiciary to impose compensation in favor of Libya from former French President Nicolas Sarkozy and five other defendants amounting to ten million euros in the case of Libyan financing of his campaign for the 2007 elections.
The lawyer Carol Sport, acting on behalf of the Libyan authorities, asked the Court of Appeal to decide to grant Tripoli compensation worth more than 4.99 million euros for material damage, and another amounting to five million for moral damage, in confirmation of “the harm caused to the Libyan people, as they suffered over 42 years under the rule of Muammar Gaddafi’s tyrannical regime.”
Read also: Sarkozy confirms before the Court of Appeal that he is “innocent” in the Libyan financing case
The material damage relates to two transfers from the Ministry of Finance and the Libyan intelligence services, in January and November 2006, to the account of the French-Lebanese mediator Ziad Taqi al-Din.
The prosecution confirms that these amounts are embezzled public funds, which were intended to provide secret financing for Sarkozy's presidential campaign.
The lawyers for the Libyan authorities considered in their conclusions that “the material damage to the state of Libya in this regard is represented by the impoverishment it was subjected to (...) in order to finance Sarkozy’s electoral campaign.”
During his first-degree trial, the Criminal Court convicted Sarkozy of forming a "criminal gang" and sentenced him to five years' imprisonment. Sarkozy actually spent about 20 days in prison before being released on the condition that he be placed under judicial supervision.
The former president denies any corruption agreement and any illegal financing of his campaign, and stresses that the investigation was unable to find any trace of Libyan funds in his electoral accounts.
In addition to Sarkozy, the compensation claim includes former ministers Brice Hertfeux and Claude Guéant, former Gaddafi office director Bashir Saleh, as well as mediator Alexandre Jouhari and Sarkozy's former aide Thierry Gaubert, who was close to Taqi al-Din, who died last September.
France 24/AFP
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