Nicolas Sarkozy, former president of France, was sentenced to five years in prison over a plot to fund his election bid with help from the government of Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi.

Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy has been found guilty of criminal conspiracy in a case related to taking millions of euros of illicit funds from the late Libyan leader Col Muammar Gaddafi. The Paris criminal court acquitted him of all other charges, including passive corruption and illegal campaign financing.

The Sarkozy-Gaddafi saga began in almost theatrical circumstances.