Argentine Vice President Cristina Kirchner has been sentenced to six years in prison in a corruption trial. The court found the 69-year-old guilty on Tuesday of embezzlement of government funds. The judges also banned her from holding public office for life.
However, the former president (2007-2015) can still appeal against the decision in the first instance. So it could be years before a final verdict is reached.
Kirchner and her late husband, ex-president Néstor Kirchner (2003-2007), would have been awarded government contracts for a friendly contractor without a tender. According to the prosecutor’s office, his company received 80 percent of all public road construction contracts in Santa Cruz, Kirchner’s home region.
Some of the outrageous construction costs later flowed back to the couple. As the leader of a criminal organization, the current vice president stole about a billion dollars from the state. The allegations relate to the Kirchners’ tenure at the head of state.
Source: Krone
