Today begins the trial of the former president of France Nicolas Sarkozywho is accused of illegally financing his 2007 presidential campaign by the Libyan leader’s government Muammar Gaddafi.

The trial over the so-called “Libya affair”, the biggest and perhaps most shocking of many scandals involving Sarkozy, will last until April 10, with a verdict expected at a later date.

Sarkozy, 69, faces charges of passive bribery, illegal campaign financing, concealment of embezzlement of public funds and the establishment of a criminal organization, punishable by up to 10 years in prison. Sarkozy, who was president from 2007 to 2012, denies the charges.

With him in the dock are 11 other defendants, including three former ministers. Franco-Lebanese businessman Ziad Takieddine, who is accused of playing the role of middleman, fled to Lebanon and is not expected to appear in a Paris court.

“There is no financing of the campaign from Libya,” said Sarkozy’s lawyer. “We want to believe that the court will have the courage to look at the facts objectively, without being guided by the nebulous theory that poisoned the investigation.”

The case came to light in March 2011 when a Libyan news agency reported that the Gaddafi government had financed Sarkozy’s 2007 campaign.

In an interview, Gaddafi himself had “burned” Sarkozy saying that “thanks to us he reached the presidency. We provided him with the funds that allowed him to win,” without mentioning any amount or other details.

Sarkozy, who had welcomed Gaddafi to Paris with great honors in 2007, became one of the first Western leaders to push for military intervention in Libya in March 2011 when pro-Arab Spring protests swept the Arab world.

Gaddafi was killed by opposition fighters in October of that year, ending his 40-year rule in the North African country.

The following year, the French online news site Mediapart published what it said was a memo from Libyan intelligence, citing Gaddafi’s agreement to give Sarkozy’s campaign £50m. euro.

Sarkozy rejected the accusations, calling the document “blatantly false” and filed complaints of forgery, concealment and spreading fake news.

However, French investigators finally ruled in 2016 that the document was authentic, although there is no conclusive evidence that such a transaction took place.

The official cost of Sarkozy’s 2007 campaign was €20 million.