A federal court in Argentina has sentenced former President Carlos Menem to four-and-a-half years in jail for embezzlement, the BBC reported Wednesday.

Mr Menem, 85, enjoys immunity as a senator and is unlikely to be arrested.

He was sentenced two years ago for involvement in an arms trafficking scheme but did not serve time in jail.

His finance minister during the Argentine economic boom of the 1990s, Domingo Cavallo, has also been found guilty of embezzlement.

Mr Cavallo was sentenced to three years and three months.

He will remain free at least until March, when the court will announce further details of the sentence.

The two men devised a scheme to make overpayments to high-ranking intelligence officers, the court said.

They kept a share of the illegal payments for themselves, the judges ruled.

Sources: MENA