Former Salvadoran president sentenced to eight years in jail for cash laundering

San Salvador. A Salvadoran court docket sentenced former president Mauricio Funes (2009-2014), who lives in asylum in Nicaragua, to eight years in jail for cash laundering, the Legal professional Normal’s Workplace (FGR) reported this Wednesday.

“Mauricio Funes has been sentenced to eight years in jail for the crime of particular instances of cash and asset laundering,” the Prosecutor’s Workplace introduced on the social community X.

“Funes favored a Guatemalan firm to be awarded the contract to construct the San Isidro bridge over the Lempa River,” within the north of the nation, the Prosecutor’s Workplace stated.

“In trade for this profit to the development firm, Funes acquired a small aircraft as a present,” the court docket stated.

In accordance with the Prosecutor’s Workplace, Funes and businessman José Miguel Menéndez carried out “a bootleg negotiation” by awarding two development tasks on highways within the nation to the Guatemalan firm Servicios Calificados de la Construcción, despite the fact that the corporate didn’t have the “capability” to hold out the work.

The tax requirement in opposition to Funes and Menéndez started in February 2022. The businessman was sentenced to eight years in jail in August 2022.

In El Salvador, trials with absent defendants have been permitted since September 2022.

After being accused of embezzling $351 million, amongst different corruption prices throughout his authorities, Funes fled in mid-2016 to Nicaragua, the place he acquired asylum. In July 2019, the federal government of Daniel Ortega granted him Nicaraguan nationality.

Two different former Salvadoran leaders additionally face judicial proceedings for corruption instances.

Former right-wing president Elías Antonio Saca (2004-2009) has been in jail since 2016 and has been serving a 10-year jail sentence since 2018 for cash laundering and different acts of corruption price $301 million throughout his administration.

Former ruler Salvador Sánchez Cerén (2014-2019) additionally faces corruption prices for embezzling 350 million {dollars}. Earlier than being arrested, he additionally fled and sought asylum in Nicaragua, the place he was naturalized.