On September 23, 2025, in Beirut, Ziad Takieddine, 75 years old, passed away. A key figure in the Karachi affairs and Sarkozy-Kadhafi, the man who claimed to have transported suitcases of cash between Tripoli and Paris leaves behind a judicial thread still taut, two days before the expected judgment in Paris. A look back at a career where networks matter as much as evidence.
The facts, the announcement, the details
The death of Ziad Takieddine was announced on September 23, 2025 by his lawyer, Élise Arfi, and then confirmed by his family. The death occurred in Beirut. Regarding the cause, one point remains: some media mention a long illness, while others do not specify it. The information is crucial, as it comes forty-eight hours before Nicolas Sarkozy’s judgment at the Paris criminal court. Indeed, this is in the context of the trial for Libyan financing (2007).
Portrait: from Isola 2000 to the discreet salons of sensitive contracts
Born in 1950 in Baakline (Mount Lebanon), educated at the American University of Beirut and then in the United Kingdom, Takieddine began as an advertiser, before taking over the management of Isola 2000 in 1979. In this resort in the Alpes-Maritimes, networks are woven: ministers, press moguls, industrialists. The address book becomes an asset. From the 1990s, he operated as an intermediary in international contracts, notably for armaments. His steps took him from Paris to Riyadh, then to Tripoli.
The man cultivated connections and flamboyance: mansion near the Trocadéro, yacht, residences abroad. His trajectory embraced the gray areas of globalization where commissions, tax havens, and parallel diplomacies intertwine. His name appeared, starting in 2011, at the heart of revelations linking French officials to opaque flows. The person concerned defended himself, recounted, sometimes retracted, then reaffirmed.
The Libyan affair: suitcases, retraction, and Nicolas Sarkozy’s trial (2025)
At the center of the so-called "Sarkozy-Kadhafi" case, Ziad Takieddine claimed to have transported around 5 million euros in cash between late 2006 and early 2007. According to his account, there were three trips from Libya to Paris. Thus, suitcases were handed over at Place Beauvau when Nicolas Sarkozy was Minister of the Interior. At that time, Claude Guéant was his chief of staff. The former president has always denied and benefits from the presumption of innocence. In 2020, Takieddine partially retracted in front of cameras, before reconnecting with his accusations. This about-face opened a separate investigation for witness tampering.
On March 27, 2025, the National Financial Prosecutor’s Office (PNF) made an important decision. Indeed, it requested seven years in prison for Nicolas Sarkozy and a fine of €300,000. This decision is part of this extraordinary trial for Libyan financing. The judgment of Nicolas Sarkozy was set for September 25, 2025. Takieddine, for his part, did not appear: since 2020, he had been living in Lebanon.
Reminder: Nicolas Sarkozy contests any illegal financing and benefits from the presumption of innocence. The people mentioned, including Claude Guéant, Brice Hortefeux, and Jean-François Copé, deny having received funds or knowing about the existence of suitcases. The judges decide based on evidence and contradiction, not on media statements.
Karachi: the other case, the convictions, the escape
The Karachi affair precedes the Libyan sequence. At the heart of the affair are kickbacks related to arms sales in the 1990s. Moreover, these financial flows are likely to have fueled Édouard Balladur’s campaign in 1995. In June 2020, the court sentenced Ziad Takieddine to 5 years in prison in the financial aspect. He did not appear and ended up in Lebanon, a country that does not extradite its nationals. In December 2020, he was arrested there, then placed under judicial supervision. His death sounds like a personal epilogue to a dispute that continues before the French courts.
Networks and acquaintances: a relay man
In the France of the 2000s, Takieddine appeared or invited himself alongside right-wing officials. Photos show him with Nicolas Sarkozy, Claude Guéant, Brice Hortefeux, Jean-François Copé. He hosts, introduces, facilitates.
His networks extend beyond politics: the world of media also comes into play, via Michèle "Mimi" Marchand, an influential celebrity intermediary.
