This morning, the Jerusalem District Court handed down its sentence on former prime minister Ehud Olmert in the Talansky affair, imposing a further prison term on him.
The judges sentenced Olmert to eight months in jail, and fined him NIS 100,000. Olmert was also given an eight months suspended sentence.
Olmert was found guilty of fraud and breach of trust over money he received from US businessman Morris (Moshe) Talansky when he was minister of industry and trade. He was originally acquitted of the charges in 2012, but was found guilty on an appeal by the State Attorney after his former aide Shula Zaken, who had previously stood by him, came forward with new evidence in the form of recorded telephone conversations that indicated that Olmert had made private use of the money he received from Talansky without reporting it.
Olmert's lawyer said his client would appeal against the verdict and the sentence, and requested a stay of execution, to which the prosecution did not object, and the court granted a stay of 45 days.
Olmert also faces a sixth-month prison sentence following his conviction on charges of receiving bribes in the affair of the Holyland development in Jerusalem when he was mayor of the city. He is appealing against this conviction to the Supreme Court.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on May 25, 2015
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