Sarkozy is definitively convicted of hiding campaign expenses

Investigations revealed that a slush fund system was created to hide the increase in spending on his failed campaign, almost double the authorized limit of 22.5 million euros (140 million reais, at current exchange rates).

The system attributed much of the cost of the rallies to his then conservative UMP party, under the guise of fictitious conventions. Sarkozy has always rejected any “criminal responsibility” in this case.

“Although the court of appeal found that he never had personal knowledge of the excessive spending of his campaign in 2012, due to the embezzlement of funds by the company Bygmalion, the Court of Cassation nevertheless considers that his mere status as a candidate is sufficient for him to be criminally responsible”, lamented his lawyers in the statement.

“However, we had a favorable precedent on the subject of the Plenary Assembly of the Court of Cassation, which is the most solemn formation of this court. Therefore, the solution adopted against Nicolas Sarkozy is, once again, unprecedented”, they added.

The court imposed a lower sentence than the first instance, which in 2021 sentenced the former president to one year in prison with the possibility of serving the sentence at home with an electronic ankle bracelet.

The conviction for the so-called Bygmalion case is the second definitive against the husband of singer Carla Bruni in France, after the wiretapping case. Due to the latter, he already wore an electronic ankle bracelet between February and May.