France’s Sarkozy to Stand Trial Over Allegations of Gaddafi Funding His First Presidential Campaign

Karachi Affair Connection

Ziad Takieddine, a Lebanese-French arms broker with deep ties to prominent figures in French conservative politics, including the inner circle of former President Nicolas Sarkozy, has made explosive claims linking Sarkozy to illicit Libyan financial dealings. Since 2011, Takieddine has been repeatedly interrogated by investigators as part of their probe into an arms sale scandal referred to as the Karachi affair. During these hearings, he alleged that €50 million in financial contributions from Libya had been funneled into Sarkozy’s 2007 presidential campaign, as noted by prosecutors overseeing the case.

In 2018, Takieddine told Mediapart that he had personally introduced Sarkozy to the late Libyan dictator Moammar Gaddafi and transported “suitcases” of cash between Libya and France. However, Takieddine’s legal troubles mounted when he was sentenced to five years in prison over the Karachi affair. Before French authorities could detain him, Takieddine fled to Lebanon in 2020, a country that does not allow the extradition of its citizens.

While in Lebanon, Takieddine unexpectedly withdrew his allegations in a televised interview with BFMTV and Paris Match, stating that his earlier testimonies were incorrect. He later reversed his position again, claiming his retraction was mischaracterized. Investigators are now looking into whether his contradictory statements were influenced by witness tampering. Sarkozy and his wife, Carla Bruni, are under formal investigation in connection with this broader inquiry.

Takieddine, who remains out of reach in Lebanon, will face trial in absentia alongside Sarkozy on accusations including complicity in illegal campaign financing, money laundering, and passive corruption.

Additionally, several of Sarkozy’s closest former collaborators, such as ex-Interior Ministers Claude Guéant and Brice Hortefeux, as well as former Budget Minister Eric Woerth—now a lawmaker with Emmanuel Macron’s Renaissance Party—are implicated in the alleged scheme. All three have publicly denied any wrongdoing.

This trial marks the third time Sarkozy has faced legal proceedings since leaving the Elysée Palace in 2012. Notably, in 2021, he was convicted for exceeding campaign spending limits during his failed re-election bid in 2012, which he lost to François Hollande. Although an appeals court upheld the guilty verdict, Sarkozy has escalated the case to France’s highest criminal appeals court and remains legally presumed innocent.