Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy was again sentenced for taking cash from Gaddafi:

News India Live, Digital Desk: Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy is once again caught in legal difficulties. He has been sentenced to one year in jail for taking ‘illegal money’ from former Libya ruler Muammar Gaddafi for his 2007 Presidential campaign, including six months suspended sentence. This is not the first time, even before he was sentenced to three years in 2021 for misusing corruption and impact, with two years suspended.

The case is related to the Libyan “cash scandal”. Prosecutors allege that Sarkozy had taken millions of euros from Gaddafi rule for his election campaign. The investigation mentioned the notebook of former Gaddafi oil minister Shuku Ghanem as important evidence, which mentioned three payments worth € 6.5 million (about Rs 58 crore) to Sarkozy. In addition, a Lebanese-French businessman Ziyad Takiaddin had confessed to delivering € 5 million (about Rs 45 crore) cash from Libya to Sarkozy’s campaign manager in 2006-2007, although he later withdrew his statement. Some loyalists of Gaddafi also spoke about money transactions in 2011.

Sarkozy has always denied these allegations and says that this is “new injustice” against him and he will fight against it. He has also published a book in which he has claimed that he would not accept political attacks as ‘judicial proceedings’. Sarkozy has the right to appeal against this punishment and he will not have to go to jail immediately until the appeal is completed. His former internal minister Claud Gayan has also been sentenced to eight months suspended in the same case.