Olmert escapes jail over corruption
Former Israeli prime minister Ehud Olmert has received a fine and a suspended jail sentence in a corruption scandal, clearing a major hurdle in a possible return to politics.
A Jerusalem court fined him about €13,000 and a one-year suspended sentence for his breach of trust conviction. He was not given any community service.
By avoiding stiffer penalties, Olmert is now eligible to run for parliament, although he remains barred from serving in a cabinet post while he faces another corruption trial.
Olmert was convicted in July of breach of trust for helping allocate government contracts to a friend’s associates.
At the time, he was acquitted of more serious corruption charges that forced him to resign three years ago.
