Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy Convicted For Illegal Campaign Financing During 2012 Re-Election

Sarkozy has denied any wrongdoing and has said that since his team handled day-to-day activities during campaigning he cannot be blamed for overspending.

Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy was convicted on September 30, 2021 of illegal campaign financing in the second trial of the so-called Bygmalion case. (AFP Photo)

New Delhi: The former French President Nicolas Sarkozy faces jail term over accusations of funding re-election bid in 2012 when he lost to the socialist Francois Hollande. According to reports Sarkozy spent almost twice the maximum legal amount of 22.5 million euros (USD 27.5 million) for the re-election campaign.

The verdict comes seven months after being convicted for corruption and influence-peddling in another case for which he was found guilty on March 1. In that case, Sarkozy was given one year in prison and two years suspended but is free pending appeal.

In the campaign financing case, the prosecutors have said that Sarkozy knew and was even warned by his accountants that he was reaching the legal limit, yet he chose to exceed.

Sarkozy has denied any wrongdoing and has said that since his team handled day-to-day activities during campaigning he cannot be blamed for overspending.

Apart from the former president 13 other people which includes members of his conservative Republican party accountants and heads of the communication group in charge of organizing the rallies, Bygmalion went on trial.

The former president has been out of active politics since 2017 but according to the report he is involved in selecting a conservative candidate ahead of France's presidential election next year.