The prosecutor of Lava Jato Special Team Germán Juárez Atoche accused the former president Ollanta Humala and Nadine Heredia of laundering illicit money from Venezuela and Brazil, in the second hearing of the public trial against the leaders of the Peruvian Nationalist Party (PNP).
The prosecutor’s presentation at a public hearing led by the Third Collegiate Criminal Court of the National Criminal Court did not come as any surprises. The same facts and arguments were repeated with which in July 2017 He achieved preventive detention for both characters.
By majority, judges Nayko Coronado Salazar, Raúl Caballero Laura and Max Vengoa Valdiglesias Juarez was prohibited from using the images of the accused in the slides that he was presenting during his speech.
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The judges explained that the images did not provide information for the knowledge of the judges and that, at other times, they were not related to the facts that the prosecutor was describing.
According to judicial sources, the court also considered that the images contained a high political content that could disrupt the process. For example, the former president appeared with the red polo shirt, which was the image of his electoral campaign, or reference was made to his political proposals.
For the judges, the sources pointed out, it was important to make it clear that this is a trial for alleged acts of criminal content, that is, it is not about judging or the ideas neither campaign promises nor government actions.
Accusation. Prosecutor Germán Juárez assured that Humala and Nadine knew the origin of the money. Photo: Capture of JusticiaTV
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The prosecutor accepted the court’s decision. Juárez only indicated that it was inevitable to refer to certain aspects, since the defendants were politicians and they would have carried out the acts for which they are being tried in a political context.
The court also asked the prosecutor to be concise in his intervention, highlighting only the most relevant facts and evidence, in such a way that it summarizes the written accusation. The judges seek that the trial is not delayed beyond what is necessary.
Politics. The prosecutor emphasized the political side of the accused. Photo: Capture of JusticiaTV
The facts
Prosecutor Germán Juárez accused the former president of two acts. First, having received money from Venezuela, that would have arrived in the country in a diplomatic bag, for the 2006 campaign.
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The second, receive money from the construction companies OAS for 316 thousand dollars through a fictitious employment contract of Rocío Calderón, that Nadine Heredia agreed with Valfredo de Assis.
What’s more, to receive three million from the Brazilian Workers’ Party, of an illicit fund Odebrecht. The agreement, the prosecutor explained, was established between Humala and former Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. The former superintendent of Odebrecht in Peru Jorge Barata refused to hand over that sum of money, but his boss Marcelo Odebrecht told him that he should do it.
Meanwhile, that Nadine Heredia is credited with setting up, together with her brother Ilan Heredia and the accountants of the Nationalist Party, the scheme to enter the money to the economic system, both in 2006 and 2011.
Data. The information was not relevant, the court said. Photo: Capture of JusticiaTV
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The prosecutor stressed that During the trial, he will present the evidence that demonstrates the participation of the accused in these events. He noted that with circumstantial evidence he will demonstrate that Humala and his collaborators were in a position to know that the money they received from Venezuela and Brazil had an illicit origin.
penalties
Whereby requested for Ollanta Humala 10 years in prison for each of these two facts, for which a total of 20 years in prison is requested.
For Nadine Heredia, Ilan Heredia, Antonia Alarcón, Rocío Calderón, Maribel Vela and Santiago Gastañadui, 10 years for the first act. In addition, for the former first lady, her brother Ilán Heredia, Eladio Mego and Carlos Arenas, another 10 years for the second fact.
Image. Prosecutor presented the images at the beginning of his argument. Photo: Capture of JusticiaTV
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The prosecutor will end his intervention next Thursday, March 3, with the exposure of an additional fact for Nadine Heredia, for which her sentence will add up to a total of 26 years and six months.
It was also pending to define the situation and exposition of the charges against Martin Belaunde Lossio. This character was not presented to the audience due to medical rest.
The president of the collegiate, Nayko Coronado, explained that Belaunde must appear at the hearing on March 3, otherwise he will be declared guilty and his capture will be ordered.
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Match
Before the statement by the prosecutor, the lawyer David León requested that the judge be excluded from the trial. Peruvian Nationalist Party having been canceled in the official registry of political parties, which was equated to the physical death of a person.
The prosecutor objected and pointed out that one thing was the administrative legal existence and another its real existence and that it could participate in elections as part of an electoral alliance.
León stressed that the 2011 party should be sanctioned, not its future existence. The court denied the exclusion of the aforementioned party so that it can defend itself, they pointed out, from the charges attributed to it by the Prosecutor’s Office.
Judge. Raúl Caballero directed the development of the hearing. Photo: diffusion
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The defense will present new evidence
“I still think that the referee’s initial decision not to exclude Martín Belaunde or wait for his presence at the trial may affect procedural legality in the future. Except for those issues, the trial is handled within what was expected, “he said. Ollanta Humala’s lawyer, Wilfredo Pedraza.
noted that judges have been wary of unnecessary reproduction of images of defendants, because the first part of the prosecutor’s statement had a political content questioning the ideology and purpose of the government, which prevents people from being stigmatized.
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Pedraza stressed that after the arguments of the lawyers, the new evidence will be presented, which was known after the presentation of the accusation and will be asked to re-evaluate the decisions of the Judge Richard Concepcion Carhuancho, that excluded or did not accept some tests.
Then, will come the statement of the accused, if they wish, and of the witnesses. “Martín Belaunde must appear at the hearing on March 3 or he will be declared contumacious.”
