From French president Nicolas Sarkozy is set to stand trial in 2025, along with 12 other co-defendants, over allegations of receiving funds from the former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi to illegally finance his victorious 2007 bid for the presidency. Sarkozy, who has faced a litany of legal problems since his one term in office, denies the Libyan allegations — the most serious he faces. The 68-year-old has already been convicted twice for corruption and influence-peddling in separate cases involving attempts to influence a judge and campaign financing. Among the others facing trial over the alleged Libyan corruption are heavyweights such as Sarkozy’s former right-hand man Claude Gueant, his then head of campaign financing Eric Woerth and former minister Brice Hortefeux. The investigation was sparked by revelations from the investigative website Mediapart which published a document purporting to show that Gaddafi agreed to give Sarkozy up to 50 million euros ($54 million at current rates).
