29-03-2024 01:09 AM Jerusalem Timing

Israeli Court Sentences Olmert to 8 Months for Corruption

Israeli Court Sentences Olmert to 8 Months for Corruption

The Zionist Jerusalem District Court on Monday sentenced former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert to eight months in prison and another eight months probation in the so-called Talansky case.

Zionist entity: ex-PM Ehud OlmertThe Zionist Jerusalem District Court on Monday sentenced former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert to eight months in prison and another eight months probation in the so-called Talansky case, in which he was accused of accepting envelopes filled with money from American Jewish businessman Morris "Moshe" Talansky, the Zionist media outlets reported Monday.

Olmert was accused in 2012 of fraud with a $19,000 fine and a suspended jail sentence for breach of trust, but was acquitted due to reasonable doubt. However, the judges overturned their decision two months ago, following the prosecution's appeal.

The new evidence came to light during his trial in the other corruption case when his former secretary and confidante Shula Zaken brought to the court secret recordings of conversations she had with Olmert.

Olmert is heard talking about the tens of thousands of dollars that he received from businessman Morris Talansky while trade and industry minister in the early 2000s.

The 69-year-old was also found guilty of taking hundreds of thousands of shekels for private use while serving as Minister of the Economy, and he is guilty of graft, aggravating circumstances, fraud and breach of trust.

Olmert decided not to testify in the new trial but did speak during the punishment pleas. "I believe that there is no harsher punishment than what I have been going through these last years," Olmert stated to the court.

The former prime minister was also found guilty of graft during his time as Mayor of Jerusalem in the "Holyland Affair".

Olmert resigned as premier in September 2008 after police recommended that he be indicted for graft, but he remained in office until March 2009, when the current prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, was sworn in.