Argentine Vice President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner has been found guilty of embezzling $1 billion. Argentine judges sentenced the 69-year-old politician to six years in prison and a life ban from holding public office.

Because Kirchner is also a member of the Argentine Senate, she has parliamentary immunity and therefore cannot be arrested. If appealed, it could be years before a final ruling is reached.

Kirchner disputes the allegations, describing herself as a victim of a “judicial mafia”.

The judges consider Kirchner found guilty of embezzling $1 billion by assigning 51 public works to construction magnate Lázaro Paez during the years she was president of Argentina.

In retrospect, it turns out that either the Argentine government paid too much for these building projects, or they were never completed. Besides being an entrepreneur, Baez is also a longtime political ally of Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner and her late husband, Nestor Kirchner.

Nestor Kirchner was president of Argentina from 2003 to 2007. He was succeeded in that position by his wife from 2007 to 2015, having served as vice president since 2019.

Kirchner also has other lawsuits pending, including one for money laundering, which may also involve her son and daughter.