Former President of Argentina Carlos Menem will return to his country next Wednesday after being granted immunity from imprisonment, his nephew and national congressman Adrian Menem said here Thursday.

Federal judge Norberto Oyarbide has imposed a one-million-dollar fine on Menem to make national and international arrest warrants for him ineffective, according to judicial sources.

Oyarbide's decision has surprised observers since Menem was charged with "hiding income information" in a sworn statement.

Menem had tried to hide the existence of a bank account in Switzerland. Those assets were found after he completed his tenure on Dec. 10, 1999.

Prosecutor of the case Carlo Stonelli said that Oyarbide's decision will be appealed against, as cited by an individual close to him. On the other hand, Menem's lawyer will probably appeal against the amount of the fine.

Menem, who ruled Argentina from 1989 to 1999, has been living in Chile's capital Santiago since late 2003, and Chile has twice rejected requests from Argentina to extradite him. The 73-year-old former Argentine president has repeatedly said that his trials are part of a political persecution from the current government of President Nestor Kirchner.

Source: Xinhua