Six months after arrest, no trial date for Bolivian ex-president | World malaymail.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from malaymail.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Two former Bolivian government officials and three Americans have been charged in an alleged scheme in which the Americans paid bribes to secure a Bolivian government contract for tear gas, U.S. authorities said on Wednesday.
Two former Bolivian government officials and three Americans have been charged in an alleged scheme in which the Americans paid bribes to secure a Bolivian government contract for tear gas, U.S. authorities said on Wednesday.
Follow RT on Arturo Murillo, who served as Bolivia’s interior minister following the 2019 ousting of Evo Morales, has been detained in the US on suspicion of trying to illegally enrich himself by trading government contracts for cash.
The US Justice Department announced on Wednesday that Murillo and his ex-chief of staff, Sergio Mendez, were arrested last week on criminal charges related to bribery and money laundering. The pair is accused
“of receiving bribes paid by a US company and individuals to secure a Bolivian government contract,” and of then using the US financial system to launder the funds.
It’s alleged that between November 2019 and April 2020, three US citizens paid $602,000 to the Bolivian officials in order to secure a $5.6-million contract to provide Bolivia’s defense ministry with tear gas and other equipment. The three Americans involved in the scheme have also been charged in the money-laundering scheme. If convicted, the five men could fac
As the votes were counted on election night, Morales was ahead as expected. The question was whether he would win by enough to avoid a runoff, which in Bolivia is triggered when a candidate wins by a margin of fewer than 10 points. In an unofficial tally, Morales led Mesa by 7.9 points, giving the opposition hope for a second round. But when the official count was released, Morales had won by 10.6 points. There would be no runoff.
Without evidence, the opposition immediately leveled fraud charges. It was backed up the next day by the Organization of American States, the powerful hemispheric cooperation organization based in Washington, D.C.