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Karim Wade, son of ex-Senegal president, jailed for corruption 

Karim Wade, son of Abdoulaye Wade, the immediate past president of Senegal, has been sentenced to six years in prison for illegal enrichment during his father’s reign.

Karim, who was known as the minister of heaven and earth, was also fined $228 million.

He was arrested after President Macky Sall, who ended his father’s 12-year rule, vowed to end corruption in the country.

Karim had been in detention since April 2013.

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Henri Gregoire Diop, the judge, said he the accused had hidden away funds in offshore companies in the British Virgin Islands and Panama.

“The facts before us constitute illicit enrichment by Karim Wade,” the judge was quoted as saying.

“The crime of Illicit enrichment being proven, Karim Wade: six years in prison and a fine of 138 billion CFA francs.”

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The 46-year-old man and his lawyer did not attend the final session of the trial, alleging that the judge was biased.

His father, who was at the court, did not entertain any question from journalists, as he claimed that his son was a victim of a political witch hunt.

The government, however, described the trial as the end of impunity for corruption in the country.

The development has dashed Karim’s hopes of contesting the 2017 election on the platform of Senegalese Democratic Party, which chose him as its candidate during the weekend.

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