Billionaire businessman Arcadi Gaydamak will return to Israel in the next few weeks to face trial over allegations that he was involved in laundering 650 million new shekels (£108m) through a bank in the country, his lawyers have said. The announcement came after Gaydamak was sentenced in absentia to six years in prison by a French court over money laundering and arms trafficking to Angola, the Jerusalem Post reports. In that case, the son of late French president Francois Mitterand, Jean-Christophe Mitterand, was given a suspended two-year prison sentence and a fine.
Gaydamak is currently living in Russia, which does not have an extradition treaty with France, and Israeli newspaper Haaretz had said his conviction could have complicated his trial in Israel, which could deport him to Europe.
However, the billionaire's attorney said he will face the Tel Aviv District Court after defence lawyers struck a deal with prosecutors to post $3.5m (£2.1m) cash bond on top of $4 million already
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