Former Costa Rican President Luis Guillermo Solis charged with corruption 

Former Costa Rican President Luis Guillermo Solis was charged with corruption, the Central American country’s attorney general announced on Thursday. 

Solis is accused of being part of an improper transfer of funds from the National Treasury to a state-owned bank in 2017. According to the attorney general, the transfer was made so that the bank, Bancredito, “would appear to have sufficient liquidity,” said the Deputy Prosecutor for Probity, Transparency and Anticorruption. 

Bancredito eventually ended up going bankrupt in July 2017, after operating for 99 years due to financial losses and poor results. 

Solis was charged with “influence against the Public Treasury.” If he is found guilty, Solis could face up to eight years in prison. 

Solis, who was president from 2014 to 2018, has denied the charges. 

“I categorically reject the charges against me,” the former president said in a video posted on Twitter. 

"From the Government of the Republic, we have always acted in accordance with the law, seeking the benefit of the country, as well as the protection of Bancrédito's creditors and the rights of its workers,” he added. 

Former finance minister Helios Fallas, former minister of the president Sergio Alfaro Salas, former National Treasurer Martha Cubillo, and former National Deputy Treasurer Mauricio Arroyo were also charged for their alleged involvement in the scheme.

They all face between two and eight years in prison if found guilty, according to the Costa Rican penal code. 

“The actions of the accused persons resulted in an affectation to the Public Treasury and the public interest,” said the Prosecutor’s Office.

"I assume this news with the tranquility of one who knows he has not committed a crime, and we will be appearing in court to make the corresponding public defense," responded Alfaro Salas to the news.