Patricia and Justo Ferreira, key in the case of Chinese inputs.
The swallowed up purchases of supplies to combat Covid were to be addressed in court, but once again some of those involved see the start of the definition process postponed.
Once again, the oral trial for Justo Ferreira and his daughter Patricia Ferreira, both related to the case called “Chinese inputs” (Insumos Médicos SA and Imedic SA) and others accused of irregularities in purchases during the Covid-19 pandemic, were suspended. .
The Sentencing Court, made up of judges Elsa García, Yolanda Morel and Juan Pablo Mendoza, will define the new summons for this purpose.
Justo Ferreira and his daughter Patricia Ferreira are also implicated in the file related to Customs broker Carlos Alberto Gamarra, and customs officers Guillermo Andrés Molinas Camp and Gustavo Adolfo Acosta Acosta.
In this process they are accused of alleged acts of smuggling, criminal association and production of inauthentic documents. The customs officers are supposedly collaborating as public officials.
The Public Prosecutor’s accusation was raised in January 2021, through prosecutors Osmar Legal, Francisco Cabrera, Diego Arzamendia and Jorge Arce.
The accusation says that the company Imedic SA defrauded the Treasury with the illegal entry of 50 high-end hospital beds, acquired from the Panamanian company Master House for the sum of USD 142,500.
The facts were verified during the pandemic, when the need for intensive care beds was high.
The hospital beds that “fit” Public Health did not meet the specifications, which in turn led to a million-dollar overbilling to the detriment of the State.
The numerous Chicanas presented in advance of the trial delayed the case from reaching trial. This time it was suspended because several of the magistrates who must address it are scheduled for another oral trial,
The firm Imedic SA also has another file, in this case for the purchase of oncological supplies. Patricia Ferreira and Nidia Godoy, president and director of the company, and Customs broker Néstor Ramírez are accused in that file.
On this occasion, says the prosecution, falsified invoices were used for the entry of cancer drugs into Paraguay.
