In an unprecedented move, the Salvadoran prosecutors accused detained, former president Elías Antonio Saca (2004-2009) and 6 of his colleagues of having diverted 246 million dollars, part of which were paid in cash.
The surprise announcement was made by Attorney General Douglas Meléndez during a press conference in which he revealed that large amounts of money were taken from an account of the national treasury.
According to the prosecution, 246 million dollars were distributed in three bank accounts, one private account belonged to Saca’s former secretary Elmer Charlaix, and administrative collaborators Pablo Gómez and Francisco Rodríguez Artiaga.
The former president and six other people involved in the case, all detainees, face charges for crimes of embezzlement, conspiracy and money laundering.
The procecutor declared that “some people” allegedly linked to the case have left El Salvador and urged other countries not to grant them asylum, if requested, because they are not politically persecuted.
It also called on the country’s banks not to make “last-minute transfers” for the accused or people related to them.