Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy Sentenced To Prison For One Year In Corruption Trial

 

France 24: France's former president Nicolas Sarkozy sentenced to prison in corruption trial 

A French court found former president Nicolas Sarkozy guilty on Monday of trying to bribe a judge and of influence peddling, making him the second head of state in modern-day France to be convicted of corruption. 

Sarkozy, who led France from 2007 to 2012, was found guilty of offering a plum job in Monaco to a judge in exchange for inside information on an inquiry into his campaign finances. 

He was sentenced to three years in jail, including two years suspended. 

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 More News On Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy Being Sentenced To Prison For One Year 

French court finds former President Sarkozy guilty of corruption -- Reuters 

France’s Sarkozy convicted of corruption, sentenced to jail -- AP 

Sarkozy: Former French president sentenced to jail for corruption -- BBC 

Former French president Nicolas Sarkozy sentenced to jail for corruption -- The Guardian

France's Sarkozy convicted of corruption, sentenced to jail -- FOX News 

Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy sentenced to jail in historic ruling -- CNN 

Carla Bruni declares 'the fight continues, the truth will emerge' as she posts photo with Nicolas Sarkozy after he is given one-year sentence for corruption -- Daily Mail

Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy To Face Trial For Corruption And Influence Peddling

Daily Mail: Former French President Sarkozy is ordered to stand trial for 'attempting to influence a JUDGE' during probe into claims he took illicit payments from L'Oreal heiress for his election campaign

* Nicolas Sarkozy allegedly tried to get details of probe into campaign financing
* He was suspected of accepting money from L'Oreal heiress Liliane Bettencourt
* French media claims he tried to use informants to get intel on the investigation
* He has already been charged over claims Libyan dictator financed his campaign
* Sarkozy was charged with bribery and receiving £4.35m of Libyan public funds

Former French president Nicolas Sarkozy has been ordered to stand trial for corruption and influence peddling involving a judge, from whom he tried to get information about an investigation, a legal source said Thursday.

According to prosecutors, Sarkozy's lawyer tried to get information from judge Gilbert Azibert over the status of a campaign financing investigation.

In that inquiry, Sarkozy was suspected of accepting illicit payments from the L'Oreal heiress Liliane Bettencourt for his 2007 presidential campaign.

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More News On Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy To Face Trial For Corruption And Influence Peddling

Nicolas Sarkozy: France's ex-president to face corruption trial -- BBC
France's Sarkozy to face trial for influence peddling -- Reuters
France’s ex-president Sarkozy to face a corruption trial -- AP
French ex-President Nicolas Sarkozy to face corruption trial -- DW
Nicolas Sarkozy to face trial for corruption and influence peddling -- The Guardian
Sarkozy under siege: Ex-president of France to face corruption trial -- CBC

Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy Faces Corruption Charges Over Libyan Cash

BBC: Nicolas Sarkozy: French ex-president under formal investigation

Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy has been placed under formal investigation over allegations he received campaign funding from late Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi.

He is being investigated for illicit campaign financing, misappropriation of Libyan public funds and passive corruption.

He was released on Wednesday following two days of questioning over the financing of his 2007 campaign.

Mr Sarkozy, 63, has denied wrongdoing.

He says his Libyan accusers are seeking vengeance for his decision to deploy French warplanes during the uprising which overthrew Gaddafi in 2011.

The centre-right politician failed in his bid to return to power in 2012, losing to socialist François Hollande.

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WNU Editor: I am surprised that they are going forward with this. It has been almost 6 years.

More News On Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy Facing Corruption Charges Over Libyan Cash

France: Ex-leader Sarkozy charged over Libyan money claims -- AP
France's Sarkozy told he suspected of taking Gaddafi election money -- Reuters
Nicolas Sarkozy, Ex-President of France, Faces Corruption Charges Over Libyan Cash -- New York Times
French judges place Sarkozy under formal investigation in Libyan probe -- Euronews
Sarkozy Charged in Libyan Campaign-Finance Case -- Bloomberg
Sarkozy indicted over Libyan financing of 2007 election campaign – reports -- RT

Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy Detained Over Corruption Allegations

Nicolas Sarkozy Placed Under Formal Investigation After 15 Hours Of Questioning Into Corruption Allegations: Former French President Faces Up To Five Years In Jail If Found Guilty -- Daily Mail

* Former leader held for questioning over suspected 'influence peddling'
* He became the first former French president to be taken into police custody
* His case will now be examined by a judge to see if there is sufficient evidence with which to charge him
* Arrived at investigators' offices in Nanterre, western Paris yesterday at 8am
* Suspected of seeking inside information into probe of election campaign
* Politician has always denied any wrongdoing in a string of investigations
* Had indicated he would try and be re-elected as president in 2017

Nicolas Sarkozy was placed under formal investigation last night after 15 hours of questioning into corruption allegations.

The 59-year-old became the first former French president to be taken into custody when he was quizzed under police guard over allegations that he tried to use his influence to thwart an investigation of his 2007 election campaign.

French prosecutors later announced that Sarkozy had been placed under formal investigation, meaning his case will be examined by a judge who will determine if whether there is sufficient evidence for him to be charged.

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More News On Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy Being Detained Over Corruption Allegations

Nicolas Sarkozy charged with corruption: prosecutors -- AFP
France's Sarkozy faces corruption probe in blow to comeback hopes -- Reuters
Nicolas Sarkozy arrested by anti-corruption police -- Irish Times
Sarkozy charged in corruption case -- Deutsche Welle
French police detain ex-president Sarkozy -- Euronews
Sarkozy’s lawyer placed under formal investigation in graft probe -- France 24
French Ex-Leader Questioned in Graft Inquiry, Imperiling Comeback Hopes -- New York Times
Sarkozy placed under formal investigation for corruption -- RT
France's ex-President Sarkozy put under investigation -- BBC
France’s Ex-Prez Sarkozy Placed Under Formal Investigation for Corruption -- Daily Beast

Did Former French President Sarkozy Just Flee To Canada?

The couple pictured after meeting Burmese opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, only a few days before they took off to Canada

Sarko And Carla 'Fled Hours Before Raid On Paris Home And Knew Police Would Come For Them' -- Daily Mail

* Sarkozy and wife Carla Bruni-Sarkozy travelled to Canada seeking refuge with a Canadian billionaire Paul Desmarais
* Sarkozy allegedly accepted bribes from L'Oreal heiress Liliane Bettencourt
* Police swept his Paris mansion and office on Tuesday

Nicolas Sarkozy knew police would come ‘looking’ for him, close friends of the ex-president have claimed.

As the former French leader and his wife Carla Bruni sought refuge in the home of a Canadian billionaire, it has emerged that the pair fled just hours before his Paris home and office was raided by anti-corruption police.

Although the former president has made no public comment, friends of his were quoted in Le Parisien newspaper as saying: “I know they’ll come looking for me. Nothing will come of it all.”

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More News On Former French President Sarkozy In Canada

Nicolas Sarkozy 'knew police would come looking for him' -- The Telegraph
Sarkozy Home and Office Searched in Campaign Finance Inquiry -- New York Times
Nicolas Sarkozy's home raided by French police -- The Guardian
France finds it hard to shed corrupt image -- BBC
Sarkozy holes up in Canadian cottage country as l'affaire Bettencourt rages -- Globe and Mail

My Comment: I live in Montreal .... and (climate wise) they are here at the wrong time (i.e. it's super hot and humid right now). But according to Canadian news reports he is at Lac Echo (north of Montreal), and if true .... they are truly at a fantastic place to enjoy Canada's summer.

Outgoing French President Sarkozy To Face Questioning And Investigations Into Party Financing And Corruption

Nicolas Sarkozy Faces Questioning In Raft Of Investigations As Immunity Ends -- The Telegraph

Nicolas Sarkozy could face questioning in a raft of party financing and corruption cases when he leaves the Elysée next week and loses his presidential immunity.

The Right-winger, who lost his re-election bid to Socialist François Hollande on Sunday, held his last cabinet meeting on Wednesday – said to be an "emotional" affair in which he urged colleagues not to be "sad or bitter".

Telling aides he intends to retire from front line politics, Mr Sarkozy let them know he was preparing to return to his former life as a lawyer at the Paris firm he still partly owns, after taking a break with his wife Carla Bruni-Sarkozy and their baby daughter.

But the outgoing president could soon be called for questioning – either as a witness or potentially as a suspect – in several corruption cases when he loses presidential immunity a month after leaving office on May 15.

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Update: Nicolas Sarkozy, France Outgoing President, May Face Inquiries Into Funding Scandals -- Huffington Post

My Comment: In France .... to the winner goes the spoils. To the loser .... expect the investigations.

Nicolas Sarkozy Concedes That He May Lose This Year's French Presidential Election

Photo: French First Lady Carla Bruni-Sarkozy with her husband Nicolas Sarkozy Photo: AFP/Getty

Nicolas Sarkozy: 'I'm Confronted By The End Of My Career' -- The Telegraph

Nicolas Sarkozy has apparently admitted that he is facing the end of his political career and may soon devote himself to "making money".

The French President reportedly made the admission as new polls suggest he will be defeated if, as expected, he stands for re-election in the Spring.

"In case of failure, I stop politics. Yes, that is a certainty," said Mr Sarkozy, 56. "Anyway, I'm at the end. In any case, for the first time in my life, I'm confronted by the end of my career."

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My Comment: His wife is pregnant and he needs money. My prediction .... he will probably lose this years French Presidential election, but he is positioning himself like Tony Blair, Bill Clinton, etc. to make money in the private sector.

French President Sarkozy Linked To Kickback Scam On Submarine Sale To Pakistan

France’s President Nicolas Sarkozy attends the final news conference of the Africa-France Summit in Nice June 1, 2010. Credit: Reuters/Eric Gaillard

President Sarkozy Named By Inquiry Into Pakistan Submarine Payments -- Times Online

President Sarkozy was caught up in a long-simmering kickbacks scandal yesterday when police in Luxembourg named him as the creator of a company that handled tens of millions of pounds in illegal funds.

An inquiry appears to implicate Mr Sarkozy in a case involving the sale of French submarines to Pakistan in 1994. It will strengthen suspicions of French investigators that money from the contract was funnelled to finance a 1995 presidential campaign managed by Mr Sarkozy, who was then Budget Minister.

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More News On French President Sarkozy's Possible Involvement In A Submarine Kickback Deal With Pakistan

Sarkozy queried over Pakistan arms cash -- BBC
Pakistan terror attack probe links Sarkozy to corruption -- Economic Times of India
Sarkozy pressured over Pakistan arms deal allegations -- Daily Times
Pakistan terror attack probe links Sarkozy to … – Economic Times -- MSMDC News
Élysée denies Sarkozy link to kickbacks -- Irish Times
Sarkozy called to 'come clean' -- Straits Times
Pakistan Terror Probe Implicates Sarkozy In Complex Kickback Affair -- All Headline News

Why Is Sarkozy Worried About Iran And Israel?

France's President Nicolas Sarkozy attends a ceremony to pay tribute to World War II resistance fighters at the Necropole de Morette, a military cemetery in Thones, French Alps, April 8, 2010. Credit: Reuters/Lionel Bonaventure/Pool

Sarkozy Warns Of Israel-Iran War -- Jerusalem Post

As the Nuclear Security Summit opened in Washington on Monday night, French President Nicolas Sarkozy warned that if the world doesn't act to prevent Iran from attaining nuclear arms, it could be responsible for a war between Israel and the Islamic republic.

"I would not want the world to wake up to a conflict between Israel and Iran, quite simply because the international community has been incapable of acting,” the French president told CBS News.

He said that an IAF strike against Iran's nuclear facilities would be disastrous.

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My Comment: His intelligence reports must be an interesting read for him to make such a remark. I always ask .... what do they know that they are not telling us. I suspect they know a lot .... and they are genuinely worried about what is happening "out there".