Today, Wednesday, a French appeals court upheld a three-year prison sentence for former French President Nicolas Sarkozy in a corruption case.
The former French president lost an appeal against the 2021 verdict of his conviction in a corruption and abuse of influence case before the Paris Court of Appeal, Wednesday, Reuters reported.
The court upheld a three-year prison sentence for Sarkozy, two of which were suspended.
The Paris Appeal said that the former president will wear an electronic bracelet instead of going to prison in the third year.
And a French court had convicted Sarkozy in 2021 of attempting to bribe a judge after leaving office, and of abusing influence in exchange for confidential information about an investigation into the financial affairs of his 2007 election campaign.
Sarkozy, 68, who presided over France for one term between 2007 and 2012, denies any wrongdoing.
According to the indictment, Sarkozy was seeking, through the judge, to obtain information that was supposed to be confidential and to influence the course of another trial before the Court of Cassation, but his request was rejected at the end of 2013.
On the other hand, Sarkozy was supposed to facilitate the process of appointing this judge to a position in Monaco, but he did not get it in the end.
The current case, known as the “eavesdropping” file, stems from another judicial file that threatens Sarkozy, and is related to suspicions that he obtained Libyan funding for his presidential campaign in 2007.
In this context, the French financial prosecutor said, last week, that Sarkozy should appear before the judiciary on charges of corruption and obtaining Libyan funding without the support of the law for his electoral campaign that ended with his victory as president in 2007.
Prosecutors are investigating allegations that Muammar Gaddafi sent millions of euros in cash to Sarkozy’s election campaign, allegations that were first revealed by one of Gaddafi’s sons.
The financial prosecutor stated that Sarkozy is one of 13 individuals who must appear before the court, and indicated that the charges against him include “concealing money laundering, receiving bribes, financing an illegal campaign, and conspiracy with the aim of committing a crime punishable by ten years in prison.”
