Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy was sentenced to one year in prison for illegal campaign financing. The Justice of that country verified that he exceeded the limit of authorized expenditures in the presidential elections of 2012 and imposed a penalty that, however, could meet at home with electronic bracelet. Your defense will appeal.
“Sarko” was not present at the reading of the ruling in which it was shown that in his reelection bid he continued to spend money despite being warned “in writing of the risk of exceeding” the legal limit of expenses allowed by the French system.
“I continued with the organization of rallies” being that “it was not his first campaign. He already had experience as a candidate,” he added. the president of the court, Caroline Viguier, which imposed a year in prison, although it allows him to fulfill it at home with a digital exit control system.
Thierry Herzog, lawyer for the former head of state between 2007 and 2012, he said upon leaving the court that your client asked you over the phone to appeal the decision. “Something that I will do immediately,” he added about the appeal that will try to paralyze the sentence.
It is the second penalty against Sarkozy
The 66-year-old former Conservative president became the first former president of the Fifth Republic (regime started in 1958) to be sentenced to firm prison for corruption and influence peddling, otherwise. His defense also appealed.
Despite his judicial fronts, Sarkozy remains a benchmark on the French right, as shown by the messages of support received, especially from those who choose to represent The Republicans in the next presidential one in April.
The new conviction against him occurred in the so-called “Bygmalion case”, which investigated the irregularities in the accounts of the 2012 presidential campaign, in which the then president lost against the socialist François Hollande.
The court imposed the maximum penalty and double what the prosecution claimed at the end of the trial in the middle of the year for a campaign of “American shows”, in which he let the expenses pass without worrying about them.
Depending on the cause, during that campaign 42.8 million euros were spent (about 49.6 million dollars at the current exchange rate), almost double the limit legal.
According to the accounting experts, the excess expenses would have subsequently been hidden in a financial setup between the then ruling party Unión por un Movimiento Popular (UMP) and the Bygmalion company, which organized the events.
More pending cases against Sarcozy
“It’s a story,” said Sarkozy during the trial. “I would like you to explain to me why I campaigned more in 2012 than in 2007. It is false!” His defense had requested the acquittal, since “he did not sign any invoice”.
The former president has other processes open. Justice accuses him of passive corruption and criminal association, among other crimes, for the alleged Libyan financing of his 2007 campaign that led him to the Elysee.
The National Financial Prosecutor’s Office (PNF) is also investigating him for influence peddling and money laundering of a crime or offense, in connection with your counseling activities in Russia.
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