Former IMF director sentenced for fraud

Madrid Feb 24 (IANS) The former director of the International Monetary Fund was sentenced by the Spanish national court to four years and six months in prison for misappropriating bank funds.

Rodrigo Rato on Thursday was found guilty of misappropriating funds from the now extinct Caja Madrid bank which he led at the time by using credit cards for irregular and undeclared expenses.

His predecessor at CM Miguel Blesa was also found guilty and sentenced to six years in prison for the same crimes Efe news reported.

Over the course of several years the two directors spent more than 15 million euros ($15.8 million) on personal expenses.

--IANS
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