Former French leader Nicolas Sarkozy faces a hearing Wednesday on whether he must stand trial on charges of illicit financing of his failed 2012 presidential campaign, one of several legal inquiries which have dogged the rightwing politician since he left office.
If an appeals court upholds a judge’s decision last year ordering the trial, Sarkozy could face a potentially embarrassing public ordeal as well as up to a year in prison if convicted.
Prosecutors claim Sarkozy spent nearly 43 million euros ($51 million) on his lavish re-election bid — almost double the legal limit of 22.5 million euros — via fake invoices which a public relations firm charged instead to his UMP party.
Sarkozy has angrily denounced the charges, saying he was unaware of the fraud by executives at Bygmalion, who are also facing trial alongside accountants and former UMP officials.
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Source: Seychelles News Agency
