World Bulletin / News Desk 

Former Israeli prime minister Ehud Olmert has been sentenced to eight months in prison after being found guilty of fraud.

The sentence was handed down on Monday after Olmert was convicted in March of illegally using around $153,000 given to him in envelopes by New York businessman Morris Talansky between 1993-2002.

The decision reversed an earlier ruling acquitting the former premier in the so-called "Talansky case," which was first opened in 2008.

Olmert was accused of having illegally received – and concealed – cash payments from Talansky in the late 1990s and the early 2000s, during his tenure as Jerusalem mayor and trade minister.

In return, Olmert facilitated Talansky's business interests.

The former premier was acquitted in the same case in July 2012, but new evidence based on recordings prompted a retrial.

Olmert’s lawyers said they would appeal the ruling.

Olmert was forced to resign in early 2009 amid the corruption allegations. His departure cleared the way for hard-liner Benjamin Netanyahu’s election, and subsequent peace efforts have not succeeded.