"Bouare Fily Sissoko was sentenced to 10 years in prison in connection with the purchase of the presidential aeroplane and military equipment" by the regime of former head of state Ibrahim Boubacar Keita, according to an official document from the Bamako Court seen by AFP.

The former minister was convicted of "damaging public assets".

Moustapha Ben Barka, former minister and former vice-president of the West African Development Bank (BOAD), was sentenced in absentia to life imprisonment.

Several other officials also received jail sentences.

The purchase of a presidential plane for what was estimated at the time at nearly $40 million, as well as military equipment, all without competitive tenders, earned Mali sanctions from financial institutions in 2014, including a six-month freeze on disbursements from the International Monetary Fund.

The case became a symbol of corruption in the country and has been frequently evoked by Mali's military leaders to justify their 2021 coup.

The amount of the alleged irregularities has varied depending on the source.

"It's a disproportionate sentence. My client is paying for others, especially the dead," Tounkara Dianguina, Sissoko's lawyer, told AFP on Tuesday following the verdict.

Former Malian prime minister Soumeylou Boubeye Maiga, who was minister of defence at the time of the purchase, was arrested and charged in 2021 but died in prison in March 2023, claiming his innocence.

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