Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy will face trial in 2025 over allegations of financial misconduct, including accepting money from the late Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi to fund his election campaign. Prosecutors announced on Friday that Sarkozy, along with 12 co-defendants, is accused of conspiring to illegally finance his successful 2007 bid for the presidency. The investigation was prompted by revelations from the investigative website Mediapart, which published a document suggesting that Gaddafi had agreed to provide Sarkozy with up to 50 million euros ($54 million).

Sarkozy, who has already been convicted twice for corruption and influence-peddling, denies the allegations and has appealed against the previous judgments. Among the individuals also facing trial for their alleged involvement in the Libyan corruption scheme are Sarkozy's former right-hand man Claude Gueant, his former campaign financing head Eric Woerth, and former Interior Minister Brice Hortefeux. The trial, which is set to take place from January to April 2025, will examine accusations of illegal campaign financing, embezzlement, and passive corruption. Sarkozy's legal troubles have been a recurring theme since his presidency.

In addition to the Libyan corruption case, he is facing a separate investigation into potential influence-peddling related to a payment he received from the Russian insurance firm Reso-Garantia in 2019. Despite these legal challenges, Sarkozy has remained in the public eye, recently releasing the second volume of his memoirs and making controversial statements about Ukraine and Crimea.

He suggested that areas of Ukraine occupied by Russia after the 2020 invasion might need to be recognized as Russian and maintained that Crimea would remain under Russian control, dismissing any prospects of reverting to the previous status quo. Sarkozy's involvement in negotiating Russia's partial withdrawal from Georgia following the 2008 invasion showcases his past interactions with Russian President Vladimir Putin. As the trial approaches, the outcome will have significant implications for Sarkozy's political legacy and the perception of corruption within the French political landscape.