A judge in Guatemala has sentenced the former leader of the country's congress to three years in prison for involuntary embezzlement of congressional funds, dereliction of duty and failure to report a crime.
Judge Amparo Rivas says former congress president Eduardo Meyer was negligent in handing over $10.2 million in congressional funds to a brokerage in 2008.
The money was purportedly an investment, but the brokerage never returned it.
Meyer is being allowed to serve the sentence under house arrest.
In the ruling issued yesterday, Rivas also sentenced the legal representative of the brokerage to 24 years in prison for fraud and money laundering. He was also ordered to repay the money.It's another step forward in Guatemala as another former member of congress is held to account for corruption. (See here for some background on the charges.)
However, I'm still waiting for all the corruption charges against Alvaro Colom. I didn't agree, but many Guatemalans were calling Colom and his administration the most corrupt in the country's history. Am I missing something?
