A Paris judge sentenced former French President Nicolas Sarkozy to five years in prison Thursday on criminal conspiracy charges for accepting campaign funding from former Libyan dictator Moammar Gadhafi.

Sarkozy received a five-year prison sentence for criminal conspiracy in a complex scheme allegedly involving the former Libyan regime of Muammar Gaddafi.

The court found Sarkozy guilty of criminal association in a plot from 2005 to 2007 to finance his campaign with funds from Libya in exchange for diplomatic favors.