Israel's Ehud Olmert was acquitted of major corruption charges on Tuesday but convicted of breach of trust, a lesser offence, in what was widely seen as a stunning victory for the former prime minister.
Olmert resigned as the country's leader in 2008 after the allegations surfaced, cutting short his pursuit of a peace deal with the Palestinians.
The three-judge court's rejection of key accusations that drove the veteran politician from office raised questions in Israel about whether prosecutors had been overzealous in effectively bringing down a sitting prime minister.
"There is justice in Jerusalem," a gaunt-looking Olmert, 66, said after the ruling. Smiling broadly, he left the courthouse to a smattering of applause, hugging and kissing well-wishers.
The court found Olmert not guilty of charges that he received, as a cabinet minister and Jerusalem's mayor before becoming prime minister, $150,000 in bribes from a US businessman and defrauded Israeli charities by double-billing them for overseas fundraising trips.
But it said he was in breach of trust when, as trade and industry minister, he green-lighted projects that involved one of his long-time friends.