TheCable

Ex-Brazilian president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has been sentenced to nine and half years in jail after he was convicted of corruption charges on Wednesday.

According to NAN, Lula, a two-term president had an 83 per cent approval rating when he left office six years ago.

He is said to have introduced policies which reduced inequality in the country.

Sergio Moro, the judge, found the ex-president guilty of receiving $1.2 million dollars (3.7 million reais) worth of bribes from OAS SA, an engineering firm.

Prosecutors said the equivalent was spent refurbishing a beach house for the Lula in return for his help winning contracts with Petroleo Brasileiro, the state oil company.

The verdict represented the highest-profile conviction in the corruption investigation that rattled Brazil for over three years.

The probe is said to have revealed a sprawling system of graft at top levels of business and government.

Former US President Barack Obama once described as him the most popular politician on earth.