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Ex-Guatemalan President and VP Charged in Corruption Scheme
Source: Associated Press
Ex-Guatemalan President and VP Charged in Corruption Scheme
By SONIA PEREZ D., ASSOCIATED PRESS GUATEMALA CITY — Jun 16, 2016, 5:27 PM ET
Guatemala's former president and vice president were formally charged Thursday in a sprawling corruption scheme that allegedly emptied government coffers and laundered money to be spent on Miami shopping sprees, real estate and luxury vehicles.
Seventy people, including former President Otto Perez Molina and his Vice President Roxana Baldetti, are accused in the arrangement involving illegal financing, embezzlement and money laundering, said Prosecutor Julio Barrios Prado.
"That money was used to buy goods and services for you and Baldetti including real estate and luxury vehicles, as well as $4.3 million in gifts," Barrios said to Perez Molina during the hearing.
Barrios said Perez Molina, who won the presidency in 2012, received millions of dollars in illegal financing through shell companies that made it appear legitimate. Money was shared with Baldetti and her private secretary Juan Carlos Monzon, who is now a cooperating witness for the government.
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By SONIA PEREZ D., ASSOCIATED PRESS GUATEMALA CITY — Jun 16, 2016, 5:27 PM ET
Guatemala's former president and vice president were formally charged Thursday in a sprawling corruption scheme that allegedly emptied government coffers and laundered money to be spent on Miami shopping sprees, real estate and luxury vehicles.
Seventy people, including former President Otto Perez Molina and his Vice President Roxana Baldetti, are accused in the arrangement involving illegal financing, embezzlement and money laundering, said Prosecutor Julio Barrios Prado.
"That money was used to buy goods and services for you and Baldetti including real estate and luxury vehicles, as well as $4.3 million in gifts," Barrios said to Perez Molina during the hearing.
Barrios said Perez Molina, who won the presidency in 2012, received millions of dollars in illegal financing through shell companies that made it appear legitimate. Money was shared with Baldetti and her private secretary Juan Carlos Monzon, who is now a cooperating witness for the government.
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Read more: http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/guatemalan-president-vp-charged-corruption-scheme-39915408