CORRECTED-UPDATE 2-Guatemala arrests former presidential candidate on eve of UN-graft team exit

By Sofia Menchu
Updated

(Corrects to sitting minister, not incoming minister in fifth paragraph)

By Sofia Menchu

GUATEMALA CITY, Sept 2 (Reuters) - Guatemalan police arrested former presidential candidate Sandra Torres at her home on Monday on charges of violating campaign finance rules, just hours before the departure of a U.N. anti-corruption commission that shook the political class.

A former first lady, the 63-year-old Torres finished second to President-elect Alejandro Giammattei last month in her third attempt to win the office. For more than a decade one of the Central American country's most prominent politicians, she has long faced accusations of corruption, allegations she has denied.

The fight against corruption has dominated Guatemala's political scene since the International Commission against Impunity in Guatemala, CICIG, helped topple a president in 2015.

Torres' arrest and a case against a sitting minister last week appear to be final blows by the body. Its mandate ends on Tuesday, after 12 years.

Torres was detained by several police officers at her house a few miles (kilometers) outside Guatemala City, her face mostly covered by a headscarf and large dark glasses.

She was taken to a courthouse in the city.

"She is charged with the crimes of failing to register election financing, and unlawful association," the attorney general's office said in a statement. The office said the warrant against Torres was issued on Friday.

Torres has denied the accusations.

"We reject this disproportionate and unnecessary measure against Sandra Torres," said one of her closest aides, lawmaker Orlando Blanco on Twitter.

At the court house, Torres said she felt unwell and was afraid she would faint. She was allowed to sit in an office to catch her breath and is due to appear in front of a judge, who may decide to place her in custody to await trial.

The charges she faces stem from a case by the CICIG. According to the case, Torres' center-left National Unity of Hope (UNE) party received some $442,000 in undeclared financing during the 2015 presidential election.

UNE holds the largest number of seats in the new Congress. (Reporting by Sofia Menchu; Writing by Frank Jack Daniel; Editing by Dave Graham and Steve Orlofsky)