Bangladesh, Nov. 13 -- A Gabonese court has sentenced former First Lady Sylvia Bongo Ondimba and her son Noureddin Bongo Valentin to 20 years in prison for corruption, money laundering, and embezzlement of public funds. The verdict, delivered in absentia on Wednesday, marks one of the most significant anti-corruption rulings in Gabons post-coup political landscape-targeting the family that once held near-absolute control over the oil-rich Central African nation.

Both Sylvia and Noureddin Bongo, who have been living in exile in London since their release on bail earlier this year, were found guilty of orchestrating an elaborate scheme to siphon off state funds while former President Ali Bongo Ondimba was incapacitated following a debilita...