Overview
- Testifying on March 18, former campaign treasurer Éric Woerth said he distributed roughly €30,000–€35,000 in cash as end‑of‑campaign bonuses to about twenty staffers in 2007.
- He told the court the money arrived in about a dozen envelopes posted or dropped at the UMP or campaign offices and addressed to him or the finance team by anonymous donors.
- Woerth argued the sums were minor relative to the overall budget, said the campaign was financed through normal banking channels, and maintained the bonuses were not electoral expenses so were left out of the accounts.
- Investigators have not established the origin of the cash; judges have noted suspicions of a possible Libyan link while separately tracing €6.5 million from Libya to accounts near Sarkozy’s networks without proof it reached the campaign.
- The Paris appeal, running through May 27, includes Nicolas Sarkozy and other co‑defendants; Claude Guéant is absent for health reasons and Brice Hortefeux is due to be heard on March 25.