A court in Argentina has sentenced Vice-President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner to six years in jail and have disqualified her from holding public office after being found guilty in a $1bn fraud case related to public works.
Fernández de Kirchner, 69, was found guilty of "fraudulent administration" after arranging for 51 public work contracts to be awarded to a company belonging to Lázaro Báez. Báez is a friend and colleague of both Fernández and her husband Nestor Kirchner.
According to prosecutors the Báez company was established to embezzle revenues via a false bidding process for projects that suffered from cost overruns.
Fernández de Kirchner was the president of Argentina for two terms between 2007 and 2015.
The decision on Tuesday is expected to be appealed by Fernández de Kirchner, who has rejected the allegations against her as a “staged fable” and is unlikely to soon serve any prison time due to governmental immunity.
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