Jayalalithaa Jayaram has received a four-year jail term and a fine of 1 billion rupees (more than $18 million).
The judge "held Jayalalithaa guilty of amassing wealth disproportionate to known sources of her income," prosecutor G.
Bhavani Singh told reporters on Saturday outside the court where the popular chief minister of southern Tamil Nadu state was convicted.
Jayalalithaa was charged with amassing illegal wealth in 1997, when police seized assets including 28 kilos of gold, 750 pairs of shoes and more than 10,000 saris in a raid on her home.
Prosecutors said her assets, which reportedly included two 404ha estates in the lush tropical state she ran, were vastly disproportionate to her earnings during her first term as chief minister, which ran from 1991 to 1996.
The discovery was in stark contrast to the image cultivated by the 66-year-old politician, who is known to her fans simply as "Amma" (Mother), and who enjoyed acclaim in her youth as a movie actress.
Now on her third term as chief minister, she has high levels of popular support in Tamil Nadu, a manufacturing hub and one of India's most prosperous states.
Three close allies including her nephew and sister-in-law were also found guilty, Singh said outside the court in Bangalore.
The case was held in Bangalore rather than Tamil Nadu for security reasons.
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