Former French president Nicolas Sarkozy is set to face criminal trial for allegedly running a corrupt election campaign for his 2012 re-election bid, according to reports.
If found guilty, the former president can face imprisonment on charges of fraud, false accounting and breach of trust. Along with Sarkozy, 13 others will also face trial over the 'Bygmalion Affair', which involves charges of spending overruns and funding irregularities, Reuters reported.
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Bygmalion was the public relations firm that managed the self-promoting Sarkozy's appearances during his failed 2012 re-election bid.
Reports state that the firm had a vast system of false accounting to conceal an alleged explosion of illegal funding for Sarkozy's campaign. The former president's lawyer Thierry Herzog had, however, said in 2016 that there was nothing linking Sarkozy to the Bygmalion case.
The decision to refer Sarkozy for criminal trial has come as his political party is embroiled in sleaze allegations. Francois Fillon, the Republican party's presidential nominee for the 2017 elections, has also been accused of being connected with a fake jobs scam involving his British wife, Penelope. Fillon, however, has said that he will not quit the presidential race despite the scandal.
The former president is accused of being involved in other scandals too and there is an ongoing investigation under his name. He is said to have received £42 million from the late Libyan revolutionary and politician, Colonel Muammar Gaddafi.
