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Guatemala City (AFP)

Guatemalan President Jimmy Morales on Sunday ordered the expulsion of a top UN anti-corruption official who had moved to strip him of his immunity over party finance allegations.

Morales said he ordered the expulsion of Colombian national Ivan Velasquez "in the interests of the Guatemalan people, for the strengthening of the rule of law and our institutions," in a video published online.

"I order that he immediately leave the Republic of Guatemala."

He cited articles of the constitution and international conventions, implying that Velasquez had interfered in Guatemala's internal affairs.

Velasquez is the head of the UN International Committee Against Impunity in Guatemala.

The commission helped prosecutors investigate a corruption scandal that toppled president Otto Perez in 2015.

Morales, a former comedian, won the subsequent elections and took over as president the following year.

On Friday, Velasquez and Guatemalan prosecutors applied to strip Morales of his immunity in a probe of alleged illegal payments linked to his party, the National Convergence Front.

That same day, Morales met with UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, who expressed his confidence in Velasquez, according to a UN statement.

© 2017 AFP