Donald Trump Guilty Verdict; List of State Leaders Who Face Criminal Charges in Modern History

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The former U.S. president and current 2024 Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump was found guilty on Thursday on all 34 felony counts relating to hush money payment made to adult film star Stormy Daniels.

Although the charges are the first for the United States, Trump is by no means the only world leader to face criminal charges.

Here are some of the former leaders who were also facing charges and/or indicted before Donald Trump: 

1. Argentina

In 2022, Argentina’s vice president Cristina Fernández de Kirchner was found guilty of fraud in a case dating back to when she was president from 2007 to 2015. She was sentenced to six years in prison and received a lifetime ban from holding political office.

2. Brazil

The current Brazilian president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva was convicted in 2017 on charges of money laundering and corruption. The conviction was overturned in 2021.

3. Croatia

In 2020, the former Croatian prime minister Ivo Sanader was found guilty of corruption and sentenced to eight years in prison. He is currently serving his sentence.

4. France

In 2011, the former French president Jacques Chirac, who died in 2019, was convicted of corruption and handed a two-year suspended jail sentence. He was also found guilty of influence peddling, breach of trust, and embezzlement during his time as the mayor of Paris. Another French leader, Nicolas Sarkozy was convicted of corruption and influence peddling in 2021. He was sentenced to three years in jail, two of them suspended.

5. Germany

In 2013, the former German president Christian Wulff went on trial after he was accused of receiving and granting favors in office. He was found not guilty in 2014.

6. Israel

Former Israeli president Moshe Katsav was handed a seven-year prison sentence for rape and other sexual offenses against subordinates in 2011. He served just over five years. In 2015, the former Israeli prime minister Ehud Olmert was convicted of fraud, breach of trust, and tax evasion. He served two-thirds of a 27-month sentence. 

Another Israeli leader who is facing conviction is Benjamin Netanyahu. The current Israeli prime minister, who is serving his sixth term, is on trial for fraud, breach of trust, and corruption. He was indicted in 2019 in long-running cases of receiving gifts from millionaire friends and granting regulatory favors to media tycoons in return for favorable coverage.

7. Italy

The former Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi was acquitted of bribery charges in three trials in 2023, 2022, and 2021. He was also acquitted in 2015 of charges related to underage prostitution and abuse of office. Berlusconi has faced more than 30 criminal court cases since entering politics in 1994.

8. Malaysia

The former Malaysian prime minister Muhyiddin Yassin was charged recently with abuse of power and money laundering in connection with the awarding of government contracts during the COVID-19 pandemic. Another former Malaysian prime minister, Najib is currently serving a 12-year prison sentence, which began in 2022 after he lost an appeal in a corruption case. In 2020, he was found guilty of criminal breach of trust, abuse of power, and money laundering related to the looting of the 1MDB state development fund.

9. South Africa

The former South African president Jacob Zuma is involved in an ongoing corruption trial, in which he faces charges related to money laundering and racketeering during his time as deputy president in 1999.

10. South Korea

In 2020, former South Korean president Lee Myung-bak was sentenced to 17 years in prison for bribery and embezzlement but was pardoned in 2022. In another instance, former president Park Geun-hye, the first woman to hold the position, was found guilty in 2018 of charges related to bribery and coercion. She was handed a 15-year prison sentence but was pardoned in 2021.

11. Pakistan

At least 85 cases were filed against the former Pakistani prime minister. Khan faces charges of corruption, “terrorism”, contempt of court, rioting, and blasphemy.

12. Portugal

In 2017, the former prime minister of Portugal Jose Socrates was indicted on corruption charges, including bribery, money laundering, and tax fraud. Four years later in 2021, a judge dismissed the corruption charges but upheld the lesser ones.

AL JAZEERA

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