CORRUPTION

Argentine Vice President Cristina Kirchner Gets 6 Years in $1B Corruption Case

Cristina Fernández de Kirchner was also banned for life from holding public office, but the verdict will remain in limbo until her appeals are exhausted.

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.”