Argentine Vice-President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner was convicted and sentenced Tuesday to six years in prison and a lifetime ban from holding public office for a fraud scheme that embezzled $1 billion US through public works projects during her presidency.
Her supporters had vowed to paralyze the country if she were convicted
Argentine Vice-President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner was convicted and sentenced Tuesday to six years in prison and a lifetime ban from holding public office for a fraud scheme that embezzled $1 billion US through public works projects during her presidency.
A three-judge panel found the Peronist leader guilty of fraud, but rejected a charge of running a criminal organization, for which the sentence could have been 12 years in prison. It’s the first time an Argentine vice-president has been convicted of a crime while in office.
The sentence isn’t firm until appeals are decided, a process that could take years. She remains immune from arrest meanwhile, as long as she can keep getting elected.
Her supporters had vowed to paralyze the country if she were convicted. They clogged downtown Buenos Aires and marched on the federal court building, beating drums and shouting as they pressed against police barriers.
Fernandez roundly denied all the accusations. Argentina’s dominant leader this century, she was accused of improperly granting public works contracts to a construction magnate closely tied to her family.
More to come