MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Former Paraguay president jailed

The former President of Paraguay, Luis Gonzalez Macchi, has been sentenced to eight years in prison for fraud and embezzlement.

Mr Gonzalez Macchi was convicted of holding more than $1m (£505,000) in a secret Swiss bank account.

His wife, Susana Galli, was cleared of the charges, as was one of the former president's business associates.

Mr Gonzalez Macchi's account dated from the period of his presidency, between 1999 and 2003.

The tribunal said he had also been convicted of giving false testimony about the bank account.

He has been barred from public office for the next eight years and, in addition, he has been ordered to pay fines of $500,000 (£252,000).

Mr Gonzalez Macchi, who correspondents say presided over a period of political instability and corruption in the country, had an earlier conviction for corruption overturned.

In June, he had been found guilty of involvement in the illegal transfer of $16m (£8.5m) but the conviction was later overturned by an appeals court.