Washington (Web Desk): Richard Olson, a former US ambassador to Pakistan (from 2012 to 2015) and the United Arab Emirates, was sentenced to three years of probation and fined $93,400 on Friday for violating ethics laws.
He was sentenced to three-year probation and ordered to pay $93,400 for violating so-called "revolving door" laws by lobbying for Qatar within one year of retiring from federal service and lying in ethics paperwork.
The former US envoy was accused of helping the government of Qatar to influence US policymakers shortly after retiring from the State Department in 2016.
Olson pleaded guilty in June last year to making a false statement and violating laws governing lobbying for a foreign government.
In a hearing, the court also accused him of continuously denying accountability by trying to put his crimes down as "paperwork errors".
During the case hearing, Olson told the Judge, "I have paid a very heavy price for the mistakes that I made."
He further said that he had been "professionally ostracised" and had lost his reputation and income.
Olson confessed in June last year of making a false statement and violating laws governing lobbying for a foreign government.
While he was eventually able to avoid a prison sentence, his confession of two misdemeanour charges made him likely to be jailed for a six-month stint one point.
“US law prohibits senior officials ..... from representing a foreign government before any federal agency or from aiding or advising a foreign entity with the intent to influence the US government for one year after leaving their positions,” the US Attorney’s Office for Washington said in a statement.
“The defendant took numerous steps to conceal these illegal activities, including deleting incriminating emails and lying to the FBI during a recorded interview,” it said.
According to the US Attorney’s Office, Olson, while serving as the US envoy to Pakistan, also received favours and benefits from a Pakistani-American businessman identified in court documents only as “Person 1.”
Those favours included $25,000 paid to Olson’s then-girlfriend in Pakistan to help pay her tuition at Columbia University in New York and $18,000 for the ambassador’s first class travel to attend a job interview in London.
“One major favor was that the defendant agreed to lobby members of Congress on Person 1’s behalf with respect to weapon sales to Pakistan and Middle Eastern countries that Person 1 was trying to broker,” the US Attorney’s office said.
According to The Washington Post, “Person 1” is identified as Imaad Zuberi, who was sentenced to 12 years in prison in 2021 for illegal campaign contributions and other offences.