Paris, Sep 25: A Paris court on Thursday sentenced former French President Nicolas Sarkozy to five years in prison “with deferred effect” while also imposing an immediate five-year ban on holding any public function and a fine of €100,000.

The court’s ruling came as Sarkozy was found guilty of criminal conspiracy, in a case where he was on trial for allegedly accepting illegal campaign financing from the regime of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi to secure win in 2007 election, Euro News reported.

The court on Thursday, however, acquitted Sarkozy of passive corruption, embezzlement of Libyan public funds and illegal election campaign financing. The court stated that the criminal conspiracy charges pertain to his involvement in a group that orchestrated a corruption offence from 2005 to 2007

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