Senegal's Karim Wade freed by Macky Sall and 'flies to Qatar'
He defeated Abdoulaye Wade and pledged to tackle corruption.
Karim Wade was also fined $m (£m) for illegally accumulating a fortune of at least $m.
He had hidden away funds in offshore companies in the British Virgin Islands and Panama, a court ruled.
The payment of the fine was not covered by the pardon, Mr Sall's office said in a statement.
The BBC's Maud Jullien reports from the capital, Dakar, that Mr Sall freed Karim Wade following pressure from influential religious leaders who felt the move would enhance national unity in the West African state.
The opposition Senegalese Democratic Party chose Karim Wade as its presidential candidate for the polls while he was in prison.
It is unclear whether he is still eligible to run for the presidency.
Karim Wade was a senior minister in his father's government, and was in charge of major infrastructure and energy projects.
His large portfolio led to him being dubbed "the minister of the earth and the sky".
Senegal's Karim Wade jailed for corruption
A court in Senegal has sentenced the son of former President Abdoulaye Wade to six years in prison for corruption.
Karim Wade was also fined $m (£m) for illegal enrichment during his father's year rule.
He was chosen at the weekend as the presidential candidate of the main opposition party, the PDS.
President Macky Sall warned last week that his government would not tolerate any attempt to destabilise Senegal after the court gave its verdict.
Mr Sall defeated Abdoulaye Wade in fiercely contested elections in , external.
Karim Wade was accused of illegally amassing about $bn, but was cleared of some of the charges by a special anti-corruption court in the capital, Dakar.
He has been in detention since April
Judge Henri Gregoire Diop said Wade had hidden away funds in offshore companies in the British Virgin Islands and Panama, Reuters news agency reports.
"The facts before us constitute illicit enrichment by Karim Wade," the judge is quoted as saying.
Opposition supporters inside the courtroom shouted in protest, denouncing the verdict as "shameful".
Wade's lawyer Mohamed Seydou Dia
Karim WADE
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Biography
Son of the former president, Karim Wade Meissa is the first person convicted by the Court of enriching Repression (Crei). Wade son of assets amounted to billion CFA francs. Fortune that he was not able to justify to the Crei which sentenced him to 7 years in prison. In the judiciary of his father, Karim Wade Meissa managed four ministers. He has been minister of infrastructure, international cooperation, air transport and energy. This has underpinned the nickname that has stuck to it, it became common to the Senegalese "Minister of heaven and earth." The son of Abdoulaye Wade led the National Agency of the Organization of the Islamic Conference. The Senegal was to host, in , 57 Muslim countries. Karim Wade was responsible for coordinating the international event and raise funds for the organization of the meeting. An opaque management of the finances of the Anoci was denoted as a result of holding the Oci. Meissa Karim Wade has tried in vain to politics. Leader of the "Generation of concrete", he however had to abandon his political plans. Since his imprisonment, Karim Wade hSenegal: Karim Wade released from prison
Karim Wade, the convicted son of former Senegalese president Abdoulaye Wade, has been released from prison in Senegal after being granted a presidential pardon.
Wade was immediately flown to Qatar after President Macky Sall’s decree early Friday, local media reported.
He was initially sentenced in to six years in prison and a fine of $m for illegally accumulating at least $m while serving as a minister during his father’s year rule.
The court ruling said that Wade had hidden away funds in offshore companies in the British Virgin Islands and Panama.
READ MORE: Senegal jails former president’s son for corruption
Despite only serving three years of his full sentence, the pardon cancels the Supreme Court’s decision to jail him. A press release from the presidency said the payment of the fine was not covered by the pardon.
Wade was a senior minister in his father’s government, and was in charge of major infrastructure and energy projects. His large portfolio led to him being dubbed “the minister of the earth and the sky”.
His arrest came after the new government led by President Sall since vowed to tackle corruption.
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