Nicaragua opposition leader Eduardo Montealegre pushed banks into bankruptcy

Nicaraguan opposition accused of fraud
Tue, 08 Jul 2008 06:45:55

Nicaraguan conservative opposition leader Eduardo Montealegre has been accused of pushing the country's private banks into bankruptcy.

Montealegre and 38 other former officials and businessmen forced the banks to go bust, which cost Nicaragua millions of dollars, according to Deputy Attorney General Julia Guido.

"There was a clear intent to push the banks into bankruptcy unnecessarily," Guido said on Monday.

The attorney general suggested all the accused be placed under house arrest and said the charges could result in prison sentences of eight to 10 years.

Montealegre cannot be prosecuted because of his seat in Congress unless a majority of lawmakers vote to strip him of his immunity.

As finance minister during the 2002-2007 administration of President Enrique Bolanos, Montealegre held interests in a private bank suspected of earning a big profit from the issue of state debt to bail out the bankrupt banks, Guido said.