Former Paraguayan president sentenced to 8 years for corruption
Paraguayan courts on Monday found former president Luis Gonzalez Macchi guilty of corruption, sentencing him to eight years in prison and a 500,000-U.S.-dollar fine, the second ruling against him this year, reports reaching here said.

One of the judges, Gloria Hermoa, said Gonzalez Macchi could not adequately explain the origin of the almost 1 million U.S. dollars deposited in his Swiss account, which could not be amassed by his public payment as the president of Paraguay from 1999 to 2003.

His wife and a related businessman were acquitted from their charges.

Gonzalez Macchi insisted the money came from the inheritance of his grandmother, he was an innocent victim of the country's justice system and he would appeal the conviction.

In June, Gonzalez was sentenced to six years for depositing 16 million dollars from failed banks into overseas accounts. The sentence was later overturned on appeal.

Political turmoil and corruption plagued Paraguay after the country was freed from a long-term dictatorship in 1989. It was one of the poorest countries in South America.