GUATEMALA: Ex-VP Roxana Baldetti sentenced to 15 years in prison

Former Guatemala Vice President Roxana Baldetti has been sentenced to 15 years in prison for her involvement in a multimillion-dollar fraud case. The court found Baldetti, 56, guilty of being involved in the embezzlement of millions of dollars from a state fund in what has become known as the “Magic Water” scandal. Baldetti “participated in […]

Former Guatemala Vice President Roxana Baldetti has been sentenced to 15 years in prison for her involvement in a multimillion-dollar fraud case.

The court found Baldetti, 56, guilty of being involved in the embezzlement of millions of dollars from a state fund in what has become known as the “Magic Water” scandal.

Baldetti “participated in and directed” the criminal network to “defraud the state of Guatemala,” said Judge Pablo Xitumul, delivering the sentence.

The fund was set up to clean a contaminated lake using state funds, but after the Israeli M Tarcic Engineering company was awarded the contract to clean the lake, millions of dollars were sent to shell companies and people involved with the scheme.

On top of that, the chemical used to decontaminate Lake Amatitlan was a useless mix of water, salt and chlorine that did not clean the lake.