The allegations can be traced back to 2011, when a Libyan news agency and Gaddafi himself said that the Libyan state had secretly funnelled millions of euros into Sarkozy’s 2007 campaign, writes Euronews.

“French prosecutors have requested a seven-year prison sentence and a €300,000 fine for former President Nicolas Sarkozy, in connection with allegations that his 2007 presidential campaign was illegally financed by former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi’s government.

The National Financial Prosecutor’s Office (PNF) also called for a five-year ban on Sarkozy’s civic, civil and family rights, a measure that would bar him from holding elected office or serving in any public judicial role.

The case, which opened in January and is expected to conclude on 10 April, is considered the most serious of the multiple legal scandals that have clouded Sarkozy"s post-presidency.

70-year-old Sarkozy, who led France from 2007 to 2012, faces charges of passive corruption, illegal campaign financing, concealment of embezzlement of public funds and criminal association. He has denied any wrongdoing.

The allegations can be traced back to 2011, when a Libyan news agency and Gaddafi himself said that the Libyan state had secretly funnelled millions of euros into Sarkozy"s 2007 campaign. In 2012, the French investigative outlet Mediapart published what it said was a Libyan intelligence memo referencing a EUR 50 million funding agreement. Sarkozy denounced the document as a forgery and sued for defamation. French magistrates later said that the memo appeared to be authentic, though no conclusive evidence of a completed transaction has been presented. Investigators also looked into a series of trips by Sarkozy’s associates to Libya between 2005 and 2007”.