07-12-2022, 03:10 PM
Amy Booth in Buenos Aires
Tue 6 Dec 2022 23.09 GMT
Argentina’s vice-president and former president, Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, has been sentenced to six years in prison and given a lifelong ban on holding public office after being found guilty in a $1bn fraud case related to public works.
Fernández de Kirchner – who was president of Argentina for two terms between 2007 and 2015 – was found guilty of fraud on Tuesday, though she is unlikely to serve any prison time soon as she has immunity due to her government roles and is expected to launch a lengthy appeals process that could take years.
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The sentence marked the first time an Argentinian vice-president has been convicted of a crime while in office.
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The verdict is certain to deepen fissures in Argentina, where the 69-year-old populist dominates the political landscape and recently survived a failed assassination attempt after her assailant’s gun apparently jammed.
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Fernández de Kirchner was accused of arranging for 51 public works contracts in the Patagonian province of Santa Cruz to be awarded to a company belonging to Lázaro Báez, a friend and business associate of Fernández and her late husband, former president Néstor Kirchner, who ruled Argentina from 2003-2007.
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Prosecutors said the Báez company was created to embezzle revenues through false bidding processes for projects that suffered from cost overruns – and in many cases were never completed.
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the verdict will do little to change deeply entrenched opinions
......
public trust in Argentina’s judiciary is low and the public, especially young people, are more likely to form their opinions from social media.
......
This verdict is the first time Fernández de Kirchner has been convicted. But she has previously been charged in numerous other cases in which she was either acquitted before the case went to trial or the cases were dismissed.
These include accusations that she colluded with the Iranian government to cover up Tehran’s involvement a 1994 bomb attack, in which 85 people were killed at the AMIA Jewish cultural centre.
The most recent case against her is the “Notebooks” scandal, in which she is alleged to have awarded public works contracts in exchange for kickbacks.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/d...fraud-case
Tue 6 Dec 2022 23.09 GMT
Argentina’s vice-president and former president, Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, has been sentenced to six years in prison and given a lifelong ban on holding public office after being found guilty in a $1bn fraud case related to public works.
Fernández de Kirchner – who was president of Argentina for two terms between 2007 and 2015 – was found guilty of fraud on Tuesday, though she is unlikely to serve any prison time soon as she has immunity due to her government roles and is expected to launch a lengthy appeals process that could take years.
......
The sentence marked the first time an Argentinian vice-president has been convicted of a crime while in office.
......
The verdict is certain to deepen fissures in Argentina, where the 69-year-old populist dominates the political landscape and recently survived a failed assassination attempt after her assailant’s gun apparently jammed.
.......
Fernández de Kirchner was accused of arranging for 51 public works contracts in the Patagonian province of Santa Cruz to be awarded to a company belonging to Lázaro Báez, a friend and business associate of Fernández and her late husband, former president Néstor Kirchner, who ruled Argentina from 2003-2007.
......
Prosecutors said the Báez company was created to embezzle revenues through false bidding processes for projects that suffered from cost overruns – and in many cases were never completed.
......
the verdict will do little to change deeply entrenched opinions
......
public trust in Argentina’s judiciary is low and the public, especially young people, are more likely to form their opinions from social media.
......
This verdict is the first time Fernández de Kirchner has been convicted. But she has previously been charged in numerous other cases in which she was either acquitted before the case went to trial or the cases were dismissed.
These include accusations that she colluded with the Iranian government to cover up Tehran’s involvement a 1994 bomb attack, in which 85 people were killed at the AMIA Jewish cultural centre.
The most recent case against her is the “Notebooks” scandal, in which she is alleged to have awarded public works contracts in exchange for kickbacks.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/d...fraud-case