Guatemala arrests 11 in medicine-buying kickback scheme

Guatemala City: Prosecutors in Guatemala have detained 11 people in connection with a medicine-buying kickback scheme at public hospitals.

Two other people implicated in the scheme are fugitives. They include Gustavo Alejos Cambara, the former private secretary to ex-President Alvaro Colom.

Head prosecutor Thelma Aldana said medicine sellers plotted with buyers at hospitals to fix prices in bidding processes and offer kickbacks or favors in return for contracts.

Those implicated include some hospital directors.

The investigation was conducted with a UN commission set up to tackle criminal networks and impunity in Guatemala.

It is not clear if the scandal is related to a wide-ranging customs corruption scheme that forced the resignation of former President Otto Perez Molina.