The Alfred Nobel Foundation tried to become a plaintiff and civil actor in the judicial process Operación Antipulpo to receive compensation benefits that could result in the event of a conviction, but the Office of the Specialized Prosecutor for the Prosecution of Administrative Corruption (Pepca) declared the instance inadmissible.
However, the non-profit organization, which has Julio Cabrera Brito as managerdid not agree with the rejection of the Pepca and filed an objection with the Seventh Court of Instruction of the National District to be Judge Deiby Timoteo Peguerowho decides whether to admit it as part of the judicial process.
The Public Ministry justified that the Foundation It does not have the quality to enter the process, since the Government appointed a group of lawyers to recover the assets of the network in favor of the Dominican State.
“They are requesting financial compensation for damages that have not been caused to their Foundationsince the damages were caused to the State, which is the one that has the quality to seek compensation”, justified the court attorney, Mirna Ortiz, explaining the reason why the Public Ministry declared the complaint inadmissible.
Ortiz explained that the Foundation Alfredo Novel “does not provide facts or evidence to help the Public Ministry in the prosecution of these criminal offenses.”
fifth postponement
The situations that arose at the hearing this Monday, June 27, motivated the judge to order a fifth postponement and fix for the 1st of August the next view.
The investigation of the corruption network attributed to Juan Alexis Medina was concluded by the Public Ministry in December 2021. In the investigation they established that Juan Alexis Medina Sánchez took advantage of his condition as brother of the then president Danilo Medina and created a network to subtract funds from the State.
The case remains stalled in court. The first of the preliminary hearings was set for February 7. Since that date, at least five hearings have been agreed in the Seventh Investigating Court of the National District, in which no progress has been made.
At this stage of the process, Judge Deiby Timoteo Peguero is responsible for examining the account of the events presented by the Public Ministry and the evidence presented to support his investigation. In addition, he must review the legality of the supporting evidence provided by the accused and then decide whether the case is sent to a substantive trial or not.
This preliminary hearing has not been initiated due to several situations that occurred in previous hearings. Some of the parties have alleged that the Office of the Special Prosecutor for the Prosecution of Administrative Corruption (Pepca), you have not notified them of all the documentation; some defendants have been absent for medical reasons and some new lawyers entered the process and asked for time to take cognizance of the matter.
The accused
The Public Ministry accuses Juan Alexis Medina Sánchez of being the main accused of an alleged corruption network that defrauded the State of billions of pesos from taxpayers.
In the case it is also involved Carmen Magalys Medina Sanchez, who, according to the Public Ministry, also took advantage of her family ties and her position as vice president of Fonper to commit crimes within the corruption network of which her brother Juan Alexis Medina Sánchez served as operational manager.
In addition, he is accused Francisco Pagán Rodríguez, former general director of the State Works Supervising Engineers Office (Oisoe), and Aquiles Alejandro Christopher, former inspector of that state unit.
The accusation also includes Julián Suriel Suazo, Lorenzo Wilfredo (Freddy) Hidalgo Núñez, who was Minister of Public Health; former Comptroller General Rafael Antonio Germosén and Domingo Antonio Santiago Muñoz.
The Public Ministry also filed charges against the legal entities General Supply Corporation SRL, Domedical Supply SRL, Fuel América Inc. Dominicana SRL and Globus Electrical SRL, among others.
