Former US Ambassador to Pakistan Richard Olson on Friday was sentenced to three-year probation and ordered to pay $93,400 for lying in ethics paperwork and violating so-called “revolving door” laws by lobbying for Qatar within one year of retiring from federal service.
“I have paid a very heavy price for the mistakes that I made,” 63-year-old Olson told Judge G Michael Harvey ahead of the sentencing, adding that he was “professionally ostracised” and had lost his reputation and income.
In the Friday hearing the prosecutor accused Olson — who served as Pakistan’s ambassador from 2012 to 2015 and was embroiled in a number of scandals — of continuously denying accountability by trying to put his crimes down as “paperwork errors”.
Among the scandals Olson was involved in but not tried for, were allegations of multiple extramarital affairs and his decision to withhold four pieces of diamond jewelry worth $60,000 during his stint as the head of the US Consulate in Dubai.
While Olson was ultimately able to avoid a prison sentence, his confession of two misdemeanor charges made a six-month jail stint likely at one point.
He admitted in June of last year to making a false statement and violating laws governing lobbying for a foreign government.
Olson was accused of helping the government of Qatar influence US policymakers shortly after retiring from the State Department in 2016.
