A French court has sentenced two former senior advisers to former President Nicolas Sarkozy to prison terms for their role in misusing public funds to fund polls.
Five of Sarkozy's former associates were tried on charges of favoritism, conspiracy and misuse of public funds in the case of awarding contracts to polling companies, amounting to 7.5 million euros, during the five years 2007-2012.
Sarkozy himself had presidential immunity in the case and had clashed with judges over whether or not he was required to testify.
The court sentenced former Sarkozy's former chief of staff and former Interior Minister Claude Gann to eight months in prison for nepotism, while his former adviser Patrick Boyson was sentenced to two years in prison with a suspension and a 150,000-euro fine for misappropriating public funds.
A lawyer for Guan told BFM that he would appeal the verdict.
Prosecutors say Sarkozy's advisers, during his presidency, secretly signed contracts without a competition, in breach of French competition and transparency law.
Former pollster Pierre Giacometti was also sentenced to six months in prison with a suspension and a fine of 70,000 euros.
Source: protothema.gr
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