The dictatorship of Daniel Ortega, through the head of the Second Criminal District Court of Managua, Judge Nadia Camila Tardencilla Rodríguez, convicted the general manager of LA PRENSA, Juan Lorenzo Holmann Chamorro, for the alleged crime of money laundering, he informed La Prensa, Holmann’s wife, Chrystal Munguía.
According to Munguía, the Prosecutor’s Office is requesting a sentence of nine years and four months in prison plus a monetary fine, of which the amount was not specified. Sentencing is scheduled for March 31.
Munguía explained to that independent media that Holmann’s defense stated that although the regime “ordered the lifting of banking secrecy for Holmann and LA PRENSA, there is no economic report from the Police that confirms any illicit origin of funds that is attributed to money laundering.” money or other crime.
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The witnesses presented by the Prosecutor’s Office corresponded to the police officers who confiscated the offices of the former Violeta Barrios de Chamorro Foundation (FVBCH) and LA PRENSA. As for the evidence on which the Prosecutor’s Office relied to accuse Holmann, it was the records of the raid that the Ortega Police carried out on La Prensa, on August 13, 2021, in which they found “29 cardboard boxes of different sizes , a red plastic box” that contained the accounting documentation of the FVBCH and “ten banners with advertisements alluding to the Foundation”.
Given this, Holmann’s defense alleged that Cristiana Chamorro, former director of the FVBCH and also a shareholder of LA PRENSA, requested to keep those boxes with the documents in the facilities of this medium after the foundation closed in February 2021. That accounting documentation must be kept for several years, and by that date there was no investigation against Chamorro.
“According to the Prosecutor’s Office, Holmann lied and hid information from the Foundation and placed the date when Cristiana kept the boxes in LA PRENSA as the commission of the act; but the final arguments of the defense were that the accusation did not prove the commission of any crime, except money laundering; and he recalled that like any company or foundation, they have the responsibility to safeguard their documents for several years, ”reports La Prensa.
Holmann claims to be innocent
Holmann’s wife stated that Holmann gave a few words during the trial where he assured that he was innocent, that he came from a family with values and that he was proud to be a Chamorro.
Part of the statements, according to that medium, were: “I am innocent and I have not committed any crime. If I am going to receive a punishment for having the last name Chamorro, I am willing to comply with it.
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Holmann’s family was strong in the face of the ruling, and stressed that they are proud of the prisoner of conscience, for his conviction, firmness and courage.
