Guatemalan ex-attorney general arrested

GUATEMALA CITY (Reuters) – Guatemalan police arrested a former attorney general on Thursday on charges that include money laundering.

Carlos de Leon Argueta, who served as attorney general from 2002-2004, was detained at his home in an upper class neighborhood in the capital.

Prosecutors allege that Argueta transferred about $250,000 in government funds intended for the construction of homes for needy families into his private bank account and into the hands of a Guatemalan investment corporation where he was president of the board.

He was also charged with bribery.

Argueta served under ex-President Alfonso Portillo, who faces extradition to the United States on charges he embezzled some $70 million in Guatemalan public funds and laundered the money through U.S. banks.

Argueta’s arrest is part of a broader attempt by the Central American country to clean up its justice system, which critics say is infested with corrupt officials.

Last Friday authorities arrested 14 district prosecutors and local police on drug trafficking charges, accusing them of helping the Mexican Sinaloa drug cartel expand its crystal meth production operations deeper into Guatemala.

The arrests have been aided by Guatemala‘s Commission Against Impunity, which was set up in 2007 and is supported by the United Nations and the Guatemalan government.

(Reporting By Mike McDonald; Editing by Eric Beech)

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