The verdict is the most severe in Israeli history against a former prime minister. Sentencing will be set at a hearing on April 28.; he faces up to seven years in prison.
Ten other businesspeople and officials were convicted with him, while three others were exonerated.
The former prime minister served from 2006 to 2009, when he was forced to resign as the corruption rumors began to surface. Before that, he had been mayor of Jerusalem from 1993 to 2003.
The corruption charges date from his time as mayor. Prosecutors say millions of dollars were paid to politicians to fast-track a luxury real estate project called “Holyland” and to bypass construction regulations.
Presiding Judge David Rozen said the case "exposed governance that grew more corrupt and rotten over the years," including bribes paid to public officials.
The New York Times said Olmert denied all accusations, saying that the charges are “an attempt at character assassination unprecedented in scope and force… I was never offered a bribe and have never received a bribe from anybody in any way, either directly or indirectly.”
