(Bloomberg) --
An Ivory Coast court sentenced presidential hopeful Guillaume Soro to 20 years in jail for embezzlement and money laundering, six months before the West African nation is scheduled to hold elections.
An Abidjan court convicted Soro, 47, on Tuesday after trying him in absentia. Soro has been in living in exile since December, when he was forced to abandon a trip to Ivory Coast from abroad after a warrant was issued for his arrest.
Soro faced charges relating to the purchase of a property in 2007, when he was prime minister, which the state prosecutor says should have been transferred back to the state. The state also alleged he was involved in a coup plot in a separate case. Soro denied all of the charges.
The world’s top cocoa producer is heading for the most tense elections since Alassane Ouattara became president in May 2011, following a violent standoff with former President Laurent Gbagbo, who refused to accept defeat in a vote five months earlier. Under Ouattara, the economy has expanded at an average annual pace of more than 7% since 2012.
READ: The Rebel Turned Politician Who Wants to Rule Ivory Coast
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