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Gaddafi’s son claims to be personally involved in transfer of cash to Sarkozy in exchange for favors
A son of the former Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi has doubled down on his claim that ex-French president Nicolas Sarkozy was paid millions of euros in exchange for political and economic favors.
Saif al-Islam Gaddafi has told French broadcaster RFI that he was personally involved in giving Sarkozy suitcases containing about 5 million euros for his victorious 2007 presidential election campaign. It comes as the former French president, along with 11 other people, are currently standing trial in a Paris court over allegations that he received illegal campaign funding from the late Libyan leader in exchange for help with Gaddafi’s rehabilitation on the international stage. Sarkozy has long denied any wrongdoing.
In a two-page statement on his version of events sent to the RFI, Saif al-Islam, Gaddafi’s former heir apparent, has claimed he was pressured by Sarkozy’s emissaries to change his testimony. At the time when the French politician was interior minister, Sarkozy initially “received $2.5 million from Libya to finance his electoral campaign” during the 2007 presidential election, the 52-year-old Gaddafi wrote, claiming that in return Sarkozy would “conclude agreements and carry out projects in favor of Libya.” Saif al-Islam has been an elusive figure during the chaotic 14 years since Gaddafi’s fall in 2011, and this was the first time he had spoken to the media about the Sarkozy affair.