Rafael Yaghobzadeh
The 66-year-old had “committed no crime,” said his lawyer Gesche Le Fur on Tuesday, as the AFP news agency reported from the courtroom in Paris. “He has not signed a cost estimate, he has not signed an invoice,” said the lawyer.
The negotiations ended after several weeks – Sarkozy did not appear in court for the final. The verdict is to be announced at a later date.
The prosecution last week called for a one-year sentence. Six months of these are to be suspended on probation. In addition, the former hope of the civil rights is said to pay a fine of 3750 euros. The Conservative ruled the Élysée Palace from 2007 to 2012.
Sarkozy had denied the allegations in court. In the 2012 election campaign, they did not go too far. “Sarko”, as he is often called in France, is said to have illegally financed the ultimately failed campaign for his re-election, according to the indictment.
13 other defendants face fraud or aiding and abetting. The public prosecutor’s office had demanded imprisonment for them ranging from 18 months to four years, which should be suspended in whole or in part on probation.
The permitted upper limit for the costs was then 22.5 million euros. In fact, Sarkozy’s team is said to have spent at least 42.8 million. In order to cover up the overspending, expenses are said to have been camouflaged by a system of fictitious invoices from his then UMP party, which has since been renamed Republican.
The judiciary is also investigating in a separate investigation into alleged payments made by Libya in the 2007 election campaign. In another affair, Sarkozy was sentenced in March to three years’ imprisonment, two of which were suspended, for bribery and illicit influence. He then announced that he would appeal.