Saïf al-Islam Kadhafi Reiterates Allegations Against Nicolas Sarkozy Over Libyan Campaign Financing
Son of Muammar Gaddafi claims Sarkozy received 5 million euros in cash for the 2007 presidential campaign; accusations denied by Sarkozy's legal team.
Saïf al-Islam Kadhafi, son of the late Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, has once again accused former French President Nicolas Sarkozy of accepting campaign financing from Libya for the 2007 presidential election.
Speaking to Radio France Internationale (RFI), Kadhafi reiterated earlier allegations that Sarkozy's campaign received substantial amounts of cash, purportedly totaling 5 million euros, from the Gaddafi regime.
In a written interview, Kadhafi claimed he has faced pressure on three occasions to alter his account of events for legal authorities.
He noted that in 2018, he submitted his testimony to Judge Serge Tournaire, who is overseeing the investigation into the case.
According to Kadhafi, an offer was extended to him in 2021 promising assistance in dismissing his arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court (ICC) if he agreed to deny any Libyan support for Sarkozy.
He stated that he refused this proposal.
The allegations, emphasized during the RFI interview, persisted that Sarkozy received 2.5 million dollars to aid his presidential campaign, with further cash payments purportedly made to 'the Sarkozy clan'.
In exchange, Kadhafi alleges Sarkozy was expected to negotiate agreements benefiting Libya, and to help resolve the complications surrounding the 1989 UTA Flight 772 bombing, which resulted in 170 deaths including 54 French nationals.
Saïf al-Islam asserts he personally oversaw these transactions and named Claude Guéant, Sarkozy's Chief of Staff at the time, as the recipient of the cash deliveries.
Sarkozy's lawyer, Christophe Ingrain, has categorically denied the allegations, dismissing them as 'fantastical' and insisting they lack any credible basis.
Sarkozy has consistently maintained that his 2007 campaign was not financed by Libyan funds.
Additionally, the alleged Libyan funding scandal is not the only legal proceeding weaving through French courts regarding campaign financing.
In a separate and notable matter, the Paris Court of Appeal acquitted Nicolas Bazire, former campaign director for Edouard Balladur's 1995 presidential campaign, in what is known as the 'Karachi affair'.
Bazire was exonerated on January 21, 2025, although five other defendants in the case received convictions.
Speaking to Radio France Internationale (RFI), Kadhafi reiterated earlier allegations that Sarkozy's campaign received substantial amounts of cash, purportedly totaling 5 million euros, from the Gaddafi regime.
In a written interview, Kadhafi claimed he has faced pressure on three occasions to alter his account of events for legal authorities.
He noted that in 2018, he submitted his testimony to Judge Serge Tournaire, who is overseeing the investigation into the case.
According to Kadhafi, an offer was extended to him in 2021 promising assistance in dismissing his arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court (ICC) if he agreed to deny any Libyan support for Sarkozy.
He stated that he refused this proposal.
The allegations, emphasized during the RFI interview, persisted that Sarkozy received 2.5 million dollars to aid his presidential campaign, with further cash payments purportedly made to 'the Sarkozy clan'.
In exchange, Kadhafi alleges Sarkozy was expected to negotiate agreements benefiting Libya, and to help resolve the complications surrounding the 1989 UTA Flight 772 bombing, which resulted in 170 deaths including 54 French nationals.
Saïf al-Islam asserts he personally oversaw these transactions and named Claude Guéant, Sarkozy's Chief of Staff at the time, as the recipient of the cash deliveries.
Sarkozy's lawyer, Christophe Ingrain, has categorically denied the allegations, dismissing them as 'fantastical' and insisting they lack any credible basis.
Sarkozy has consistently maintained that his 2007 campaign was not financed by Libyan funds.
Additionally, the alleged Libyan funding scandal is not the only legal proceeding weaving through French courts regarding campaign financing.
In a separate and notable matter, the Paris Court of Appeal acquitted Nicolas Bazire, former campaign director for Edouard Balladur's 1995 presidential campaign, in what is known as the 'Karachi affair'.
Bazire was exonerated on January 21, 2025, although five other defendants in the case received convictions.
