GUATEMALA CITY – Guatemala’s Supreme Court has sent a request to lift President Jimmy Morales’ immunity from prosecution to congress for final consideration.
Monday’s court decision on the request from prosecutors is related to allegations of illegal financing for Morales’ 2015 campaign. Investigations have targeted several political parties including his National Convergence Front.
Mr Morales has declared the chief of the commission persona non grata and attempted to throw him out of the country https://t.co/VYxKd7NuFR
— The Economist (@TheEconomist) August 31, 2017
Prosecutors allege that about $825,000 of financing for the campaign was hidden and other expenditures had no explainable source of funding. Morales has denied any wrongdoing.
Last month chief prosecutor Thelma Adana and the head of a U.N. anti-corruption commission announced they were seeking to lift the immunity of office that Morales enjoys as president.
Two days later Morales ordered commission chief Ivan Velásquez’s immediate expulsion from the country. But that was overturned by the Constitutional Court.