Saif al-Islam Gaddafi says he was involved in Libyan financing of Sarkozy's election

Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, son of former Libyan autocrat Muammar Gaddafi, has told a French news network that he was personally involved in giving ex-French President Nicholas Sarkozy $5m in cash for his victorious 2007 presidential election campaign, in exchange for political and economic favours.
It comes as the former French leader and 11 other people are currently being tried by a Paris court over allegations of illegal Libyan funding of the election campaign, at the price of a rehabilitation of Gaddafi on the international stage.
Sarkozy has long denied all wrongdoing.
Saif al-Islam Gaddafi sent Radio France International (RFI) a two-page statement on his version of events, the French broadcaster reported on Tuesday.
Whilst making similar statements about the issue in recent years, it was the first time Gaddafi had spoken to the media about the Sarkozy affair since 2011.
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Gaddafi said that Sarkozy initially “received $2.5m from Libya to finance his electoral campaign” during the 2007 presidential election, in return for which Sarkozy would “conclude agreements and carry out projects in favour of Libya.” The French politician was interior minister at the time.
The 52-year-old Libyan added that a second payment of $2.5m in cash was handed over to Sarkozy, without specifying when it was given.
According to Gaddafi, Libyan authorities expected that in return, Sarkozy would put an end to a legal case about an attack on UTA Flight 772 on 19 September 1989, which killed 170 people including 54 French nationals.
Six Libyans were charged with involvement in the attack, including Abdullah Senussi, brother-in-law of Muammar Gaddafi and former head of Libya's military intelligence.
Saif al-Islam Gaddafi said that the second payment was also expected to lead to the six Libyans, including Senussi, being removed from an Interpol notice.
A suitcase full of dollars
Gaddafi added that he personally supervised the transfer of cash, which he said was handed by Bashir Saleh, Muammar’s former treasurer, to Claude Gueant, Sarkozy’s then chief-of-staff.
He said that Gueant, who would go on to become Sarkozy's interior minister, had difficulty closing a suitcase full of dollars and had to climb on it to do so, which “made everyone present laugh”.
Gueant, who denies all involvement, is amongst those on trial with Sarkozy. If found guilty, Sarkozy, Gueant and others could face up to 10 years in prison.
Gaddafi added that in 2005, Sarkozy personally contacted Senussi during a visit to Libya and promised to remove him from the Interpol list once he was elected president.
Gaddafi also said that telephone records of the conversation are in Senussi’s possession, though French authorities have never been able to access them.
Senussi, who has also been accused of masterminding an attack on a US-bound aircraft over Lockerbie in Scotland which killed 270 people in 1988, is currently being held in a Tripoli prison.
Not long after becoming French president, Sarkozy invited Muammar Gaddafi to France for a state visit - the first western leader to welcome the Libyan leader on a full state visit since relations were frozen in the 1980s over alleged involvement in terrorism.
Four years later, Sarkozy and British Prime Minister David Cameron spearheaded Nato-led airstrikes in Libya which helped rebel forces topple Gaddafi’s four-decade rule. The autocrat was captured and killed by rebels in October 2011.
'Revenge' for Nato campaign in Libya
Saif al-Islam Gaddafi added that since the affair, the former French president has exerted pressure on him, through intermediaries, to change his testimonies on the matter.
He said that in return, he was offered support in his case before the International Criminal Court. He is wanted by the ICC over alleged crimes against humanity, committed during his father’s reign.
Sarkozy denies all allegations of wrongdoing. His lawyer, Christophe Ingrain, told RFI that Gaddafi’s claims were “not only fanciful, but also very opportunistic”.
“They come from someone who, since the beginning of the trial, for 10 years, has been putting forward accusations that are not supported by anything, that are not confirmed by anything,” said Ingrain.
“For 10 years he has been promising to hand over documents that would confirm these accusations. To date, nothing has been submitted to the procedure. So for me these accusations are simply fanciful bragging and have no importance.”
Ingrain described Gaddafi’s assertions as a “revenge” attempt for Sarkozy’s involvement in Nato air strikes in 2011 which brought down his father’s long-time rule in Libya.
The lawyer said that the claims about Senussi were false, given that French authorities had no control over international arrest warrants.
The three-month trial into Sarkozy and the 11 others is investigating whether a “corruption pact” existed between the French leader and the Libyan government.
It comes after a 10-year anti-corruption investigation into the matter by French authorities.
For the first time, the former French head of state has appeared in court with a criminal record, after being definitively sentenced to wear an electronic tag for a year in corruption case in December.
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