Former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, who was convicted on bribery charges in March, has been sentenced to six years in prison. The 68-year-old was also fined one million shekels, or roughly $290,000, for his role in the Holyland complex scandal, which a judge called “one of the worst corruption affairs in Israeli history” when it was brought to light in 2010.
Olmert had been convicted of two counts of bribery stemming from his time as major of Jerusalem, both of which related to the construction of the controversial complex. In March, a judge ruled that Olmert had, with the help of his brother Yossi, funneled nearly $143,000 in shekels from Shmuel Dechner, a businessman responsible for obtaining permits, ultimately allowing the Jerusalem site to become more than 12 times its allotted size.
Olmert plans to appeal his case in the Israeli Supreme Court, Haaretz reports.
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Stephanie Butnick is chief strategy officer of Tablet Magazine, co-founder of Tablet Studios, and a host of the Unorthodox podcast.
