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Ecoley

Cuban court sentences 5 for corruption


    Havana, Apr 3 (EFE).- A court in Havana sentenced five people to prison terms ranging from one to 10 years for embezzling from an office of the Cuban postal service, state-run media said Friday.

    The fraud involved payments totaling more than $73,000 by the West Havana Post Office to a self-employed locksmith, the media said. Authorities noted that the disbursements, made in 2013 and 2014, were "disproportionate" in relation to the services provided.

    The proceeds from the inflated billing were shared by office finance manager Yordanka Riverol, chief accountant Javier Hernandez and the locksmith, Erlis Puentes de Leon.

    The harshest sentences fell on Riverol and Puentes de Leon, with terms of 10 and nine years, respectively.

    Hernandez was sentenced to five years in prison.

    Office chief Madeleine Deroncele and accountant Yeney de la Caridad Vidal each received one-year sentences for "dereliction of duty."

    One of the reasons the fraud could continue was "an absolute lack of control" at the West Havana Post Office, Communist Party daily Granma said.