Former French President Just Got Sentenced To Prison For Corruption
In a historic ruling, the former French president Nicolas Sarkozy was found guilty of corruption in France after exploiting his status to bribe a top lawyer with a prestigious job in Monaco.
He was sentenced to one year in prison and a two-year suspended sentence. The court said he can request to spend his confinement at home with an electronic bracelet.
The 66-year-old has been intertwined in scandal since leaving office in 2012. In fact, the reason he exploited his status to try and bribe a magistrate was to obtain information about a separate case looking into financial wrongdoings on his part.
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The investigation was looking into claims that Sarkozy took illicit payments from the L'Oreal heiress Liliane Bettencourt for his 2007 presidential campaign.
Currently, a separate probe is also looking into allegations that he received millions of euros in cash from the deposed leader of Libya, Muammar Al-Kaddafi, allegedly delivered by Lebanese-French businessman Ziad Takieddine .
Louise MERESSE/SIPA
After Jacques Chirac, Sarkozy is the second French president to be convicted of corruption in modern history.