Guatemala announced suspicions against Russia "in bribery of the president"

The Prosecutor General's Office of Guatemala launched an investigation in connection with the suspicion that the President of this Central American country, Alejandro Giammattei, was "given a bribe." Law enforcement officials assume that the bribe-givers are Russians.

According to Reuters, Guatemalan prosecutors suspected Russian citizens of "bribing the president" in order to get a ship's dock at their disposal in one of the ports on the Caribbean coast. At the same time, Giammattei himself is not currently under investigation, since he has not been impeached by parliament. The investigation is being conducted on "fact", and the press secretary of the President of Guatemala did not comment on the situation.



In turn, the newspaper The New York Times, referring to the press secretary of the Attorney General Juan Luis Pantaleon, clarified that the investigation began on September 1. Investigators are only at the first stage of their work, so it is too early to comment. However, at the end of August, the newspaper cited the testimony of a "witness", according to whose story, he personally delivered a rolled carpet full of money to Giammattei's house. Then the administration of the President of Guatemala denied the accusations, calling them unsubstantiated and baseless.

It should be noted that all accusations against the president are built around an interview with the former head of the Special Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office, Juan Francisco Sandoval Alfaro, who fled to the United States. He was fired from his post in mid-July. The Guatemalan authorities charged him with selective administration of justice and abuse of power, and the investigating authorities issued a warrant for his arrest. At a press conference gathered in the United States, he announced that he was hiding from criminal prosecution.

Sandoval claimed that in February 2021, a Russian delegation of four entrepreneurs visited the country to conclude a deal. They wanted to build a terminal with a pier in the port of Santo Tomas de Castilla for loading and unloading bulk cargo, having invested $ 30 million in this business. On April 29, they bribed Giammattei by delivering a carpet filled with bundles of banknotes to the presidential residence ... After that, one of the Russians allegedly said that "the doors to the port are open."

Note that the head of the US State Department, Anthony Blinken, recently reminded the public of how he awarded Sandoval for his "brave fight" against corruption in Guatemala. In February 2021, Blinken launched the International Anti-Corruption and Investigative Journalism Award. This could indicate that Washington is behind the accusations against Giammattei.