ROME – Giuseppe Orsi, former President of Finmeccanica has been sentenced to two years in prison for false accounting but was cleared of a more serious corruption charge by a court on Thursday.

Speaking after the verdict he said “I didn’t expect anything different because I didn’t do it.”

The charges related to alleged bribes paid by Orsi to secure a lucrative contract selling helicopters to the Indian government. Former head of the company’s Helicopter division Bruno Spagnolini has also received the same sentence.

The prison sentences have been suspended but the men have also been ordered to pay compensation of 1.5 million euros to the Italian tax authorities.