The same president has ruled the Central African country for decades, and the scandal has been shaking the government since the videos emerged last week.
Gallant will be replaced by Foreign Minister Israel Katz, Netanyahu said in a statement issued on the day the world’s attention was focused on the U.S. election.
Leonard Francis was also ordered to pay $20 million in restitution to the Navy, and to forfeit $35 million in “ill-gotten proceeds from his crimes,” officials said.
Searches were being conducted simultaneously at the company’s headquarters in Paris and Amsterdam as part of a preliminary investigation into tax fraud and money laundering, a French judicial source close to the investigation told NBC News.
“Her Majesty The Queen is currently unwell with a chest infection, for which her doctors have advised a short period of rest,” a palace spokesperson said.