A regional court in Germany acquitted ex-President Christian Wulff of corruption charges on Thursday and granted compensation for the "loss suffered" during a police raid at his home.
Wulff was accused of accepting favors from David Groenewold, a businessman and film financier, for Munich's Oktoberfest in 2008 worth 754 euros ($1,030). This also led to his stepping down from the presidency in 2012.
"The accused Wulff has been found not guilty," presiding judge Frank Rosenow told Hanover regional court, reports the Agence France-Presse. Further adding that there was insufficient evidence to prove the charges against him.
Judge Frank Rosenow said the relationship between Wulff and Groenewold was just friendship, which included picking up the tab for each other at different times, and not a case of official corruption, reports Deutsche Presse-Agentur, a German news agency.
The high-profile political trial that began in 2013 included over 20 witnesses. The 54-year-old former president maintained his innocence since the beginning. He was also accused of lobbying a war film 'John Rabe' made by Groenewold with the CEO of Siemens. He told the court the only reason he promoted the film was because he believed in the true story of a Siemens manager who saved over 200,000 Chinese after Japanese forces committed the Nanjing massacre in 1937-1938.
According to The New York Times, the Conservative Party member was seen as a future chancellor then. He was particularly chosen as the 2010 presidency candidate by Chancellor Angela Merkel.
In 2010, Wulff became the youngest president of Germany. But he served the office for just 20 months. He was sought after by the media after his wife Bettina divorced him and published a book on her life as a first lady, reports Deutsche Welle.
