Ad portas of the definition of the trial against him for the Interoceánica case, the former president Alejandro Toledo He tried at any cost to get rid of the solid tax accusation against him. The Prosecutor’s Office requests 20 years and 6 months in prison, accusing him of committing the very serious crimes of collusion and money laundering to the detriment of the State during the period in which he governed Peru (2001-2006).
LOOK: Alejandro Toledo washes his hands in the Interoceanic case
If he receives a conviction, as everything seems to indicate, Toledo, 78 years old, would become the second former president of Peru to be convicted of corruption, after the late Alberto Fujimori. At the hearing last Friday, October 11, he tried to smear his deceased friend Joseph Maiman and even his former ministers Pedro Pablo Kuczynski (PPK) and José Ortiz. I did not receive, I did not know, I do not know, I did not meet was in summary the conclusion of his defense statement, a few days after the judicial verdict was known.
Can his arguments save him from spending long years confined in the Barbadillo penitentiary center? Criminal lawyers consulted by Peru21 They say no: the die seems to be cast.
FINAL DESTINATION
For example, Andy Carrion He maintained that “it is complicated” that these final arguments, in which he tries to incriminate third parties, are favorable to him to evade justice or reduce the sentence against him. He recalled that “the accusation against him is that he had colluded to favor Odebrecht within his scope as President of the Republic.”
The lawyer pointed out, in conversation with this newspaper, that “Normally the accused’s version is taken with a grain of salt by the referee.” because what matters is the evidence. The tax accusation is more solid.” Carrión pointed out that “the investigative and evidence-providing stage” of this process has already ended, so “there is no possibility of supporting his statements with any new evidence.”
In addition, he maintained that the Second Collegiate Criminal Court of the National Superior Court, chaired by Judge Zaida Pérez Escalante, must make a decision before October 22, the date on which the 18-month preventive detention period issued against him expires. in 2017, but which began to take effect on April 23 of last year, after was extradited from the United States. “If one refers to the evidence, I think that Of the cases handled by the Lava Jato team of prosecutors, this is the most solid. Yes, there is evidence of the crimes of collusion and money laundering,” he concluded.
Likewise, the criminal lawyer Roberto Pereira manifested to Peru21 that “Toledo has declared in his capacity as accused and by virtue of a right. However, this statement will have to be evaluated with all the evidence that already exists. So his statements have a very limited effect. “This is a case where there is abundant evidence about his involvement in these serious acts of corruption.”.
If the conviction is confirmed, he added, Toledo “has an expedited appeal, which will be heard by a higher court. That decision will be monitored, but if the trial has been carried out, as we have all seen, with probity, with evidence, with due process, the possibility of it being questioned is more limited.”
He indicated that Toledo’s age “can influence the way he will face the prison,” but not “on his own responsibility, because the rule in the Penal Code to be able to take into account the age of people is applied considering the moment of the commission of the facts.”
“UNSOLID STRATEGY”
Regarding Toledo’s speech, Julio Midololawyer of the former president Pedro Pablo Kuczynski (PPK)maintained that “the only direct accusation of an act of corruption in Interoceánica is towards Mr. Toledo.”
He added that, although each minister manages his portfolio, none can establish policies or guidelines “without the coordination of the president.” In that sense, he said Peru21“I rule out that Mr. Kuczynski has had any irregular agreement with anyone from the Odebrecht company or with any of the consortia, much less that this has been done behind Mr. Toledo’s back; I think it has been rather the other way around.”
“If the defense strategy is to try to divert attention, I see it as very unsound. Direct questions are asked of Mr. Toledo and, beyond denying it with the histrionics that characterizes him, he does not establish any contraindications.”he concluded.
Meanwhile, Toledo’s lawyer, Robert Suhe stated to Peru21 that he will not give any statement to the press “until we give our closing arguments, which are on Tuesday.”
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