An Argentine court has sentenced Vice President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner to six years in prison on corruption charges that have rocked the country.
Fernandez, 69, was found guilty of “fraudulent administration” for awarding public works contracts to a friend.
But he is unlikely to stay in jail.
Fernandez enjoys some immunity through his government roles and is expected to begin a lengthy appeals process.
She is also banned from public office for life, but will continue in her role as vice president while the case plays out in higher courts.
The prosecution had demanded a 12-year prison sentence.
Fernandez said the charges against him were politically motivated. Speaking after the verdict, he described himself as the victim of a “judicial mafia,” the Associated Press news agency reported.
Prior to this verdict, he had also accused the prosecution of lying and defamation.
This is the first time that a vice president has been convicted of a crime while in office in Argentina.
Prosecutors said Fernández had an illicit partnership during the time she was Argentina’s president from 2007 to 2015.
They said he orchestrated a kickback scheme that funneled lucrative public works contracts to a friend in exchange for bribes.
Businessman Lázaro Báez, owner of a construction firm accused of being the main beneficiary of the scheme, was also sentenced to six years in prison. He has already been sentenced to 12 years in prison last year for money laundering.
Eleven others were on trial. Seven were found guilty and sentenced to three and a half to six years in prison, three were released and one was dismissed.
Prosecutors said they uncovered irregularities in dozens of public works tenders in the southern province of Santa Cruz, Fernandez’s political stronghold. Many construction projects were never completed.
Prosecutor Diego Luciani described it as “probably the biggest corruption operation known to the country”.
He also said the alleged kickback scheme cost the Argentine state at least $1 billion (£818m).
Fernandez vehemently denied all the allegations against him.
The case has proved extremely divisive in Argentina, where supporters of Fernández – a populist politician – love and hate him in equal measure. Supporters took to the streets outside his apartment in Buenos Aires to show their support for the vice president. At times, they face Fernandez’s critics, who accuse him of being a “thief”.
On September 1, during one of these gatherings, Fernandez was assassinated.
A 35-year-old man pointed a gun at the vice president’s head, but it jammed when the weapon was aimed at him.
