Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, Argentina’s current vice president and the country’s former president, was found guilty of fraud charges on Tuesday in a high-profile corruption case, with a three-judge panel ordering her to serve six years in prison. The sentence is considerably lower than the 12-year term that Argentine prosecutors sought, arguing that the alleged scheme, which was related to public construction contracts, had cost the government nearly $1 billion. The panel also handed Kirchner, a divisive figure who held presidential office twice between 2007 and 2015, a lifetime ban from public office. Both the prison term and the ban will effectively remain in limbo until Kirchner has exhausted her appeals, a process that is expected to take years. “This sentencing, my compatriots, is not one based on the laws of the constitution,” the politician said following the verdict. “This is a parallel state, a judicial mafia.” The 69-year-old, who was widely expected to explore another presidential bid next year, also swore fiercely that she planned to step back from politics, saying, “I won’t be a candidate for anything, not president, not senator. My name will not be on any ballot.”