Buenos Aires.- An Argentine court today sentenced Argentine Vice President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner to six years in prison for defrauding the State.
The sentence also includes a lifetime ban from holding public office.
The court made up of three judges considered the fraudulent administration proven but dismissed the prosecution’s accusation that the vice president had led an illegal association and for which she had requested a total sentence of 12 years in prison.
Fernández de Kirchner, 69, was found guilty of irregularly adjudicating 51 road works with national funds to Lázaro Báez, a close businessman, which amounted to defrauding the State of close to 1,000 million dollars.
The ruling can be appealed and will be final when the Supreme Court of Justice so decides, a process that could take years. Until then, the vice president will be able to run for any popularly elected office – from a seat in Congress to the presidency – as established by law.