A Paris court on Monday found French former President Nicolas Sarkozy guilty of corruption and influence peddling and sentenced him to one year in prison and a two-year suspended sentence. This is the first time in France’s modern history that a former president has gone on trial for corruption. At the time, investigative judges had launched an inquiry into the financing of the 2007 presidential campaign. In one of these phone calls with Herzog, Sarkozy said of Azibert : “I’ll make him move up … I’ll help him.”In another, Herzog reminded Sarkozy to “say a word” for Azibert during a trip to Monaco. He was handed preliminary charges of passive corruption, illegal campaign financing, concealment of stolen assets from Libya and criminal association.

Source: Indian Express March 01, 2021 13:50 UTC