Former Philippines Leader Pilfered Millions From State Lottery: Police
Former Philippines President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo may not have been caught with her hand in the cookie jar, but she certainly left a trail of crumbs behind her, leading the police to arrest her Thursday on charges of embezzling $8.8 million in state lottery funds while in office.
Arroyo, a current member of Congress who served two terms as president from 2001 to 2010, is accused of periodically stealing money from the national lottery, along with other members of her administration, from 2008 to 2010.
The former president faces other corruption charges in at least two other cases for offenses committed during her administration, one involving election-rigging and the other an illicit $329 million deal with a Chinese telecom company that was ultimately canceled. Both cases are ongoing.
The warrant for her arrest came just one day after she filed to seek re-election to Congress.
Prior to her arrest, Arroyo checked into a hospital for hypertension and dehydration and is currently being detained at the facility.
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