Former president Sarkozy back in court following corruption conviction
Former French president Nicolas Sarkozy has returned to court to face trial over claims of illicit financing for his failed 2012 re-election bid, just two weeks after a landmark conviction for corruption.
Issued on:
On 1 March, 66-year-old Sarkozy became France's first post-war president to be sentenced to prison when he was handed a three-year term, two years of which were suspended, for corruption and influence peddling.
That case was just one of several hanging over him since he left office nine years ago.
Sarkozy has denied any wrongdoing, saying he is the victim of a vindictive judicial system with which he wrangled while in power between 2007 and 2012.
At the opening of Wednesday's trial, which he is not expected to attend, the former head of state is accused of overspending on his failed 2012 re-election bid to the tune of €20 million.
The money was spent on lavish rallies in the final days of the race, as Sarkozy scrambled to fend off an unexpectedly strong challenge from his Socialist rival François Hollande.
Le procès de l’affaire #Bygmalion, qui porte sur l'explosion du compte de campagne de Nicolas Sarkozy en 2012 et le système de fausses factures ayant permis de la dissimuler, doit s’ouvrir mercredi 17 mars, mais risque d’être renvoyé. https://t.co/nEKlqp1k7G
— Mediapart (@Mediapart) March 16, 2021
Campaign funding cover up
Prosecutors say accountants had warned him that the campaign was set to blow the €22.5 million cap on spending between the first and second rounds of voting, but Sarkozy insisted on holding more events.
Investigators say his total spending on the second round came to nearly €43 million euros
To hide the spending, the PR firm behind the campaign, Bygmalion, and officials in Sarkozy's UMP party (since renamed Les Republicains) are accused of conspiring to have the UMP foot the bill through a system of fake invoices.
The former president claims he was unaware of the fraud -- unlike some of the defendants he is not charged with fraud, but with the lesser offence of illegal campaign financing.
He has fought for years to avoid a trial.
Runaway train
Bygmalion executives and Jerome Lavrilleux, the deputy manager of Sarkozy's 2012 campaign who will also go on trial, have acknowledged the system of fake invoices.
Lavrilleux in particular made headlines in 2014 after he tearfully confessed to the scam during a French TV interview, saying: "This campaign was a runaway train that no one had the courage to stop."
▶Procès #Bygmalion : Jérôme Lavrilleux sur #LCI
— LCI (@LCI) March 16, 2021
🗣@LavrilleuxJ sur Nicolas #Sarkozy qui dit qu'il ignorait l'existence de Bygmalion.
"Moi je pense que non, c'est invraisemblable"
📺Explications dans le #Le20HdeLCI @EliMartichoux. pic.twitter.com/rOZ1KdQhae
The trial is set to run until 15 April, but Lavrilleux's defence team has said it will seek to postpone the start because his main lawyer has been hospitalised with Covid-19.
If convicted, Sarkozy risks being sentenced to up to a year in prison and a fine of €3,750.
- Nicolas Sarkozy to appeal against three-year sentence for fraud, abuse of office
- French court rejects ex-president Sarkozy's appeal to block Libya trial
No jail time expected
On 1 March, he was found guilty of forming a "corruption pact" with his lawyer to convince a judge to share information about yet another investigation into the politician's affairs, relating to his winning 2007 campaign.
His prison sentence stunned the political establishment and prompted his many admirers on the right, including Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin, to send him messages of support.
He is not expected to serve any actual jail time, with two of the three years suspended by the court and the remaining year set to be served at home with an electronic bracelet.
He has also been charged over allegations he received millions of euros from the late Libyan dictator Moamer Gadhaffi for his 2007 election campaign.
And in January, prosecutors opened a probe into alleged influence-peddling involving his activities as a consultant in Russia.
Daily newsletterReceive essential international news every morning
Subscribe