Jose Manuel Morales, son of Guatemalan President Jimmy Morales, reacts after being acquitted by a Guatemalan court on corruption charges, in Guatemala City, Guatemala August 19, 2019. REUTERS/Luis Echeverria
August 19, 2019
MEXICO CITY (Reuters) – A Guatemalan court on Monday acquitted a son and brother of President Jimmy Morales, after a corruption case that slashed the president’s popularity and precipitated the country’s expulsion of a United Nations-supported corruption commission.
Samuel “Sammy” Morales, the president’s brother and political adviser, was facing charges of fraud and money laundering. Jose Manuel Morales, the president’s eldest son, was facing fraud charges.
In January 2017, the Attorney General’s office and the International Commission against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG) accused both men of defrauding the land registry of $12,000 in 2013, using false invoices, before Morales was elected.
(Reporting by Bill Barreto and Sofia Menchú; Writing by Anthony Esposito; Editing by Steve Orlofsky)
