Guatemala Extradites Former Congress President Charged Over ‘Ghost Jobs’ Scheme

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Guatemala extradited former Congress President Luis Rabbé from Mexico, six years after his arrest on charges related to embezzlement through a scheme known locally as “the Phantom Plazas case”.

Rabbé remained detained in Mexico since 2018. Two years prior, he departed Guatemala after learning the country’s Supreme Court would revoke his immunity from prospecution.

Rabbé served as President of the Guatemalan Congress from January 2015 to January 2016. During his tenure, he appointed 164 individuals to various positions, including roles on the Congress’s Board of Directors.

Many of these appointees failed to report for work but continued to receive salaries over an extended period.

An investigation by the International Commission against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG), a UN-backed entity established in 2007, revealed that Rabbé used his position to orchestrate an embezzlement scheme.

In a recent court appearance, Rabbé questioned why prosecutors were targeting him specifically, given that a previous attorney general had reported approximately 30,000 “ghost jobs” in the country.

“Why are prosecutors not investigating all the other ghost jobs? Why focus solely on me?,” he asked.

Rabbé is currently held in a prison located within a military barracks in northern Guatemala City. The court is expected to schedule a hearing for him to make his initial statement and determine the next steps in his legal proceedings.

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