Guatemala prosecutors raid 26 properties in graft case

GUATEMALA CITY – Prosecutors in Guatemala raided 26 properties and detained seven people Wednesday in connection with a 2014-2015 corruption case that helped lead to the resignation of former president Otto Perez Molina.

Perez Molina and his vice-president Roxana Baldetti resigned in 2015 and have been in custody on charges of permitting and benefiting from a customs graft scheme known as La Linea, or “The Line.”

The scheme involved a conspiracy to defraud the state by letting businesses evade import duties in exchange for bribes. Dozens of people are under investigation in connection with the “Linea” case, which involved about $1 million in bribes and $2 million in lost income for the government.

Those involved in the scheme also allegedly include customs officials, business people and others.