AUGUST 25, 2017
A former Guinea government minister was sentenced to seven years in prison on Friday following his conviction of laundering $8.5 million in bribes that U.S. prosecutors say he took in exchange for helping a Chinese conglomerate secure mining rights.
The sentence, as imposed by U.S. District Judge Denise Cote in Manhattan federal court, was less severe than the more than ten years suggested by federal guidelines. Cote said she had considered the good that Thiam, a U.S. citizen, had done for his native country when he returned there to take the government job in 2009.