Monday, 30 March 2015

Former Israeli Premier Olmert Found Guilty in Bribery Case


Former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert was found guilty Monday of fraud and breach of trust in a retrial on corruption charges, three years after being acquitted.

Olmert's lawyers said they would likely appeal the ruling by the Jerusalem District Court. He'll be sentenced at a later court hearing.

Olmert was acquitted in 2012 of a series of charges that included accepting cash-stuffed envelopes from U.S. businessman Morris Talansky when Olmert was mayor of Jerusalem and a Cabinet minister before he became prime minister. The verdict was seen as a major victory for Olmert.

But Olmert's former office manager and confidant Shula Zaken later became a state's witness, offering tape recordings of conversations with Olmert about receiving cash, leading to a retrial.

A panel of judges at the Jerusalem District Court found that Olmert had used the money for personal reasons without reporting it.

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