Former French President, Nicholas Sarkozy has been found guilty of trying to bribe a judge and influence peddling by a Paris court. The court sentenced him to one year in prison and a two-year suspended sentence.
The former President who led France from 2007 to 2012, was found guilty of offering a prestigious job in Monaco to a Judge in exchange for inside information on an inquiry into his campaign finances.
The court said the facts were “particularly serious” given that, they were committed by a former President who used his status to help a magistrate who had served his personal interest. It added that as a former lawyer, Sarkozy was “perfectly informed” about committing an illegal action.
The court also posited that Sarkozy will be entitled to request to be detained at home, with an electronic bracelet. His two co-defendants, Lawyer Thierry Herzog and Judge Gilbert Azibert were also found guilty and given the same sentence.
According to court records, the former President and his lawyer offered to bribe Judge Azibert for information on an inquiry into claims that, the former leader had received illicit payments from L’Oréal heiress, Liliane Bettencourt during his successful 2007 presidential campaign.
The state’s case was based on recordings of conversations between Herzog and Sarkozy, with prosecutors accusing him of “using secret telephone lines” to cover up his attempt to infiltrate the court.
Prosecutors said it had been established “with certainty” that Judge Azibert transmitted confidential information about the Bettencourt case on an unofficial line to his friend, Herzog. They added that one conversation “overwhelmingly” showed that Sarkozy had promised to intervene to get Azibert a post in Monaco.
Azibert, who was a senior adviser at France’s highest appeals court at the time, never got the job in Monaco. Sarkozy’s lawyers argued this pointed to the absence of corruption but prosecutors said French law makes no distinction between a successful corruption attempt and a failed one.
Sarkozy still faces a number of other legal challenges including another trial later this month along with 13 other people, on charges of illegal financing of his 2012 presidential campaign.
Also, allegations that he received millions of euros from Libyan dictator, Muammar Gaddafi for his 2007 election campaign are still being investigated and in January, prosecutors opened another probe into alleged influence-peddling by Sarkozy over his advisory activities in Russia.
Reports indicate that the probe is targeting a payment of 3 million euros in 2019 by Russian insurance firm, Reso-Garantia, when Sarkozy was working as an adviser after his Presidency.
His sentencing makes him the second head of state in modern-day France to be convicted of corruption. In 2011, Sarkozy’s political mentor, Jacques Chirac, was also put on trial on corruption charges after leaving office.
Chirac received a two-year suspended sentence over the creation of ghost jobs at the Paris city hall to fund his party when he was mayor.
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