Honduras: Former First Lady Convicted of Corruption

TEGUCIGALPA (AP) — A court has found former Honduran first lady Rosa Elena Bonilla de Lobo guilty for the second time in a trial that was repeated for inconsistencies in the first trial, during which she received a 58-year prison sentence that was overturned.

The wife of former president Porfirio Lobo Sosa (2010-2014), who was barred from entering its territory by the United States for allegedly accepting bribes from drug traffickers in exchange for political favors, has been found responsible for crimes of fraud and embezzlement of public funds.

For his part, Saúl Escobar, who served during the Lobo Sosa government as private secretary of Bonilla de Lobo, was found guilty of fraud.

The hearing on individualization of the sentence, during which we will know how long they have to spend in prison, was scheduled for March 28. The sentence for the crime of fraud ranges from 12 to 16 years of imprisonment, while for embezzlement is from 7 to 9 years.

After hearing the judge's new judgement, the prosecutor's office requested that the provisional measure of home detention be revoked for the two and to proceed with their pre-trial detention.

“They are accused of embezzling public funds for social projects,” justice spokeswoman Lucia Villars told The Associated Press.

Both are linked to the case called “La Dama's Small Box”, which was initially exposed by the Organization of American States (OAS) Support Mission Against Corruption and Impunity (MACCIH).

According to the Public Prosecutor's Office, the ex-president's wife seized more than 12 million lempiras (about $480,000), which she took from an account in the name of the Office of the First Lady and the Presidential House and deposited in her personal account four days before the end of her husband's term.

The prosecution also points out that it appropriated 16 million lempiras (about $650,000) which it withdrew thanks to more than 70 checks issued to nine shell companies between 2011 and 2015.

The investigation, which lasted four months, ended with the capture of the former first lady in February 2018, when she was imprisoned at the National Women's Penitentiary for Social Adaptation.

On September 4, 2019, the former president's wife was sentenced to 58 years in prison for three crimes of embezzlement and eight for fraud, while Escobar was sentenced to 48 years in prison for several fraud crimes.

However, on March 13, 2020, the Criminal Chamber of the Supreme Court of Justice unanimously decided to annul the sentence of both and ordered a new trial, citing improper procedure in the conduct of the first trial. The two were then released.