Libyan authorities have demanded nearly €10 million in compensation in the long-running case surrounding allegations that Libyan state funds were illegally used to finance the 2007 presidential campaign of former French president Nicolas Sarkozy.
The request was presented on Wednesday before the French Court of Appeal, where Libyan representatives argued that public Libyan funds had been misused outside legal frameworks, causing significant financial and moral damage to the state.
According to submissions made before the court, Libya is seeking approximately €4.99 million in material damages and an additional €5 million in compensation for moral harm linked to the alleged misuse of state resources.
The case centres on financial transfers allegedly carried out in 2006 through official Libyan institutions and routed via a French-Lebanese intermediary. French investigators suspect the funds were unlawfully channelled to support Sarkozy’s election campaign.
Sarkozy has consistently denied all allegations, describing the accusations as politically motivated fabrications. He has also linked the claims to tensions surrounding his support for the 2011 international military intervention in Libya, which contributed to the overthrow of former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi.
French judicial authorities formally charged Sarkozy in 2018 with passive corruption, concealment of embezzlement of public funds and illegal campaign financing. The trial officially opened in 2025 and included several former officials, businessmen and intermediaries connected to the investigation.
During the proceedings, Sarkozy was acquitted of some direct corruption and campaign financing allegations, but was later convicted on charges related to criminal conspiracy, resulting in a prison sentence at a subsequent stage of the legal process.
The allegations first emerged publicly in 2012 following investigative reports published by French outlet Mediapart, which cited a document allegedly issued by Libyan intelligence services in 2006 approving potential campaign funding worth up to €50 million.
The claims were later reinforced by statements from Saif al-Islam Gaddafi in 2011, in which he alleged that Libya had financially supported Sarkozy’s campaign and called for the return of the money.
