The latest charge of "membership in a criminal conspiracy" was brought on Monday, and adds to suspected crimes under investigation since 2018, including "passive corruption", "benefitting from embezzled public funds" and "illegal campaign financing".
Prosecutors suspect that Sarkozy and his associates received millions of euros from the regime of former Libyan strongman Moamer Kadhafi to help finance the 2007 election bid.
Nicolas Sarkozy has denied any wrongdoing and has reacted to this latest legal move with "amazement".
"I have learned about this latest charge with stupefaction," he said on Facebook. "This is another attack on my innocence, a decision which is not based on the slightest proof of illegal financing."
— Nicolas Sarkozy (@NicolasSarkozy) October 16, 2020
The former president has consistently described the case behind these four criminal charges as a "plot".
The anti-corruption association Sherpa, which is pursuing Sarkozy, has described the latest development as "unprecedented" but "coherent" in the light of the on-going investigation.
One of Sarkozy's former associates, Thierry Gaubert, has already been charged with criminal association for his alleged part in the supposed plot to use Libyan money to finance the 2007 French presidential campaign.
