Brown gavel with a brass band on a blue background. | File photo

A Court in Juba has sentenced a government official to 14 years imprisonment for corruption and embezzlement.

Adiing Agudiyar, who was a financial controller at the Agricultural Bank was found guilty of giving uncovered cheques.

Uncovered cheques or rather dishonored cheques are those that a bank has refused to pay due to insufficient funds or a bad cheque in a form of larceny.

Convict Agudiyar was among six individuals from the Agricultural Bank the High Court General Prosecutor petitioned over an alleged embezzlement of 290 million pounds and 40,000 US dollars.

Sabino Okuj told Eye Radio that the fraud was discovered during an internal audit of the Bank.

However, the court acquitted five of the accused including the Bank’s Juba branch Manager Pashay James and the financial controller, Abraham Goum.

Others were Butrus Charles, Clement Augustino and Madut.

During a court verdict Wednesday, Adiing Agudiyar made a judicial confession of issuing uncovered cheques.

The High Court Judge Duoth Kulang then convicted Agudiyar in accordance with section 351 of the South Sudan Penal Code 2008.

”Adiing Agudiyar is sentenced to imprisonment for fourteen years from the date of his arrest ON 11\2\2022 for Violation of the section 351 of South Sudan 2008 Penal act. And a fine of 500,000 pounds in case of non-payment Imprisonment for Violation of the section 353 of South Sudan 2008 Penal act,” the ruling read.

The convict will also pay different fine totaling nearly a million pounds or risk additional years of imprisonment.

Judge Duoth Kulang granted the defendant the right to appeal within a period of 15 days.

According to section 351 of the penal code, whoever, being in any manner entrusted with property in his or her capacity as a public servant, nanker or agent commits criminal breach of trust in respect of that property, and shall upon conviction, be sentenced to imprisonment for a term not exceeding fourteen years and may also be liable to fine.