The court spokesman said Karoui is accused of illegally receiving more than $1 million in foreign funding to support his campaign.
Karoui is among several prominent figures in the world of business and politics who have been the subject of investigations related to corruption, foreign financing and undermining state security.
Facing a range of charges, he crossed from Tunisia to Algeria in 2021, where he was arrested and later fled. His whereabouts are unknown.
Karoui was originally sentenced to one year in prison, but the sentence was tripled after the Tunisian public prosecutor filed an appeal. Karoui will also not have the right to run for the presidency for five years.
Karoui founded the Tunisian Nessma TV channel and headed what was once one of the largest political parties in the North African country. He was arrested and jailed midway through the 2019 campaign season on suspicion of money laundering but was released before Election Day.
This comes a day after the Corruption Court sentenced Rached Ghannouchi, leader of the largest opposition party in Tunisia, to three years in prison in a similar foreign financing case. A new arrest warrant was also issued against Abeer Moussa by the Tunisian Elections Authority for spreading false information.
Abeer, the leader of Tunisia's Free Destourian Party, announced plans to run in the presidential race this year, but she will not be able to run in the elections while she remains behind bars due to a 14-month prison sentence for conspiring against state security.
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