Appeals court upholds conviction of Guinea ex-minister

NEW YORK – A federal appeals court has upheld the conviction of Guinea’s former minister of mines, rejecting his effort to use redefined rules about public corruption in the U.S. to get a new trial.

The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Monday that U.S. citizen Mahmoud Thiam was properly convicted.

Thiam was sentenced in August 2017 to seven years in prison after a jury concluded he betrayed the Republic of Guinea by accepting $8.5 million in bribes.

Prosecutors said he used his official position as minister of mines in 2009 and 2010 to help a Chinese conglomerate to obtain exclusive and highly valuable investment rights in Guinea.

The appeals court rejected his effort to use a recent Supreme Court ruling about public corruption to reverse his conviction.