Peter Orsi, Miami Herald
Photo Credit: AP Photo

HAVANA -- A Cuban court has convicted a dozen people of corruption, including high-ranking government officials, an executive at a state-run nickel company and workers from a project operating under a Cuban-Canadian joint concern, official media announced Tuesday.

In a case involving a contract for the expansion of the Pedro Soto Alba nickel and cobalt processing plant at the Moa mine, the sentences range from four to 12 years, the Communist Party newspaper Granma reported.

The court in the eastern province of Holguin took into account "the gravity of these acts and their harmful consequences in one of the strategic activities for the nation's economy, and the conduct of the accused, characterized by the loss of ethical values and deception," the bulletin read.