Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy was sentenced to three years in prison for an accusation related to bribery and abuse of influence

Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy was found guilty of corruption on Monday, and sentenced to three years in prison, in a resounding scandal of a man who for five years remained at the forefront at the local and global levels.

A Paris court concluded that Sarkozy, 66, tried to bribe a judge after leaving office in exchange for classified information regarding an investigation into financing his 2007 election campaign.

“He took advantage of his situation and the relationships that he created,” said Judge Christine Mai.

Sarkozy, who led France from 2007 to 2012, denied any wrongdoing and said he was the victim of scheming members of the Malian prosecutor’s office who resorted to excessive methods to spy on his affairs.

He has retired from politics, but he still wields influence among conservatives.

But he may not be serving any prison terms. 

Two years of his sentence was suspended, and May said she was open to the idea of ​​him staying out of prison with an electronic bracelet placed on his body to track him for the remaining year.

But the decision in this matter is in the hands of another judge.

Sarkozy left the court without a word, but his lawyer said he would appeal the ruling and prove his innocence.

Sarkozy is the second president in modern France, after the late Jacques Chirac, to be convicted in a corruption case.

Prosecutors persuaded the judges that Sarkozy had offered to grant Judge Gilbert Azepe a prestigious position in Monaco in exchange for classified information on an investigation into allegations that he had received illegal payments from L’Oréal’s heir to Lilian Bettencourt for his campaign to run in 2007.

They said they learned this from an audio recording of a conversation between Sarkozy and his lawyer, Thierry Herzog, after Sarkozy left power, related to another investigation into allegations of Libyan funding for the same campaign.

The ruling includes imprisonment for a year, as well as imprisonment for two years with a suspension of execution, however it is likely that he will not go to prison, as one year can be spent under house arrest while wearing an electronic bracelet.

Sarkozy was accused of trying, with the help of his legal advisor in 2014, to learn secrets related to a favorable investigation into election financing by Gibleret Ezbert, who was at the time a public defender at the Court of Cassation.

On the other hand, Sarkozy is reported to have supported the lawyer when he applied for a position in Monaco.

According to local media reports, the judge said that Sarkozy had entered into a “corruption agreement” with his lawyer and attorney general, which undermined the independence of the judiciary, a “very serious” crime.

The charges were based on evidence from wiretapping.

Sarkozy’s lawyer, Thierry Herzog, and lawyer Azbert were also sentenced to three years in prison each, and the two sentences also include two years suspended.

The trial is unique, as there were no allegations of corruption against a former head of state in the Fifth Republic of France, which was founded by Charles de Gaulle in 1958.

Sarkozy is likely to appeal.

Sarkozy, 66, who was president between 2007 and 2012, was not the first former head of state to be sentenced in France. Jacques Chirac received a two-year suspended prison sentence for embezzlement and breach of trust during his tenure as mayor of Paris.

But the ruling is the harshest sentence issued against a former French president.

Sarkozy is also facing another trial this March, over campaign finance irregularities. Another long-term investigation is examining whether he received money from Libya in exchange for his successful 2007 presidential candidacy. Sarkozy says he is innocent in both cases.