In 1993, Pierre Falcone negotiated financing for the MPLA government of Angola during its civil war against UNITA. This financing was achieved in exchange for the future oil production of Angola for French interests. The subsequent delivery of weapons to support José Eduardo dos Santos's Angolan government led to a trial known as Angolagate in France. In 2011, the charges against Falcone were dropped by an appeals court after he had served half of his sentence in a French prison. The appeals court acknowledged that Falcone had been officially mandated by the Angolan government to acquire arms as well as food and medicine.