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Sao Tome officials in graft case | |
(about 1 hour later) | |
Several former high-ranking government officials are due to go on trial in Sao Tome, in the island nation's largest corruption scandal. | |
Millions of dollars vanished from the accounts of a body created in 1993 to manage foreign aid money. | Millions of dollars vanished from the accounts of a body created in 1993 to manage foreign aid money. |
Ex-government ministers are accused of charging cars, foreign trips, phone bills, electoral campaigns and home refurbishments to the organisation. | |
The accused, who include two former prime ministers, deny any wrongdoing. | |
Among the alleged costs incurred to the now-defunct Gabinete de Gestao das Ajudas, or GGA, was the bill for redecorating the house of ex-Prime Minister Maria das Neves. | |
Another former Prime Minister, Guilherme Posser da Costa, is also charged. | |
The BBC's Maimouna Jallow in Sao Tome says the accused have defended themselves with a common explanation: | |
They say they used GGA cash because the government simply did not have enough in its coffers to foot the bill. | |
But our correspondent adds the corruption allegations could have dire consequences in a country where about 90% of its budget comes from foreign aid. |