PARIS — Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy was found guilty of taking part in a criminal association but was cleared of corruption charges after being accused of accepting illicit campaign donations from Libyan dictator Moammar Gadhafi when he ran for president in 2007.

The presiding judge in the case ruled that Sarkozy had permitted his “close collaborators” and “unofficial intermediaries” to try “to obtain or attempt to obtain financial backing for his campaign.”

Those attempts included “meetings with Gadhafi’s official representatives” and “arranging transfers of public funds.”

Sarkozy, 70, is still awaiting sentencing but is expected to be able to walk out of court a free man by appealing the verdict, which would push sentencing until after the appeal. 

Sarkozy has repeatedly professed his innocence and claimed to be the victim of a smear campaign coordinated by Gadhafi’s allies after the former French president led the NATO effort  to overthrow the Libyan dictator in 2011. 

The conservative Sarkozy has had repeated run-ins with the law since leaving office — including one corruption case in which he was found guilty and has exhausted his appeals. But the Libyan case contained the most egregious charges and heaviest potential penalties. 

This developing story will be updated.