( CNN ) -- Former President Alfonso Portillo of Guatemala faces money-laundering charges in the United States , according to a federal indictment unsealed Monday . The indictment charges Portillo with embezzling tens of millions of dollars in public funds , `` a portion of which he then laundered through bank accounts located , among other places , in the United States and Europe , '' the indictment says . A grand jury indicted Portillo in U.S. District Court in New York . Portillo engineered an embezzlement with co-conspirators that occurred from about 2000 through about 2003 , the indictment says . Prosecutors allege the money-laundering took place through at least 2006 . Portillo was the president of Guatemala from 2000 to 2004 . Authorities in Guatemala started searching for him after the United States requested his extradition , a spokesman for the International Commission against Impunity in Guatemala told CNN en Español on Sunday . They executed search warrants in four locations but had not found him as of Sunday night , officials said . Portillo came into power promising to clean up corruption , but found his own government mired in the same accusations as his predecessors . According to the indictment , in one instance in 2000 , Portillo funneled $ 1.5 million worth of donations for a literacy project from Taiwan into accounts in Europe controlled by his ex-wife and daughter . In that case , the indictment alleges , Portillo endorsed three $ 500,000 checks destined for a program to purchase books for libraries , but diverted the funds into a bank in Miami , Florida . That money was eventually laundered into his family 's accounts in Europe , the court document states . In short , `` this money was diverted , in a series of transactions and transfers designed to conceal the sources and origin of the funds , '' the indictment states . There was a second instance where Portillo allegedly embezzled money given to Guatemala by the Taiwanese , according to the document . In addition , Portillo is accused of embezzling money from his defense ministry in 2001 . With the help of others , Portillo made large cash transactions that ended up in accounts belonging to him and his co-conspirators , the document says . Some of the money that Portillo took went to buy expensive watches and cars , the indictment says .
Indictment on charges of former Guatemalan president with corruption . Rafael Portillo indicted in U.S. court with alleged money - laundering charges . As of Sunday , authorities in Guatemala had not found Portillo .