Libya Seeks €10 Million in Sarkozy Campaign Financing Trial
Legal representatives demand compensation for damages and material losses linked to alleged financial misconduct during Sarkozy's campaign.
The Libyan state has formally requested €10 million in compensation in connection with the ongoing trial regarding campaign financing for former French President Nicolas Sarkozy.
The trial commenced on January 6, with Libyan representatives asserting a desire for restitution following perceived personal and direct harm from the alleged infractions.
Carole Sportes, a lawyer representing Libya, emphasized that the majority of Libya's population, estimated at seven million citizens, are civil servants; thus, any potential corruption stemming from the case would have a direct impact on their daily lives, underlining the importance of probity in the proceedings.
The defense has proposed a theory of a conspiracy instigated by the late Muammar Gaddafi's regime as retaliation for the international intervention in Libya beginning in March 2011. Sportes refuted this assertion, stating, "There are too many converging elements from multiple sources, too many precise details, and too much consistency in statements over time." She elaborated on various pieces of evidence presented in the case.
Libyan representatives also seek additional monetary judgments, with a second lawyer indicating that they are pursuing five million euros each for material and moral damages, directly linked to transactions involving intermediary Ziad Takieddine in 2006. Marion Seranne, another attorney, highlighted the profound consequences of breaches of integrity, noting that such misconduct is particularly severe in a nation still in the process of building its democracy.
In a related aspect of the case, an attorney for the Libyan sovereign wealth fund, the Libyan African Portfolio (LAP), has requested that five defendants be ordered to pay €12.4 million in damages and legal fees.
The individuals named include Bechir Saleh, the former head of LAP, intermediary Alexandre Djouhri, as well as two Saudi businessmen and a Franco-Djiboutian banker.
They are accused of purchasing an overvalued villa in southern France, allegedly to misappropriate funds from the LAP.