Time lag wont let defendants off hook

DEFENDANTS in numerous corruption investigations hoping to dodge the bullet by claiming prosecutors took too long, have had their hopes dashed by the Supreme Court.

In a March 2 ruling,  the plenum of he courts said that the excess time needed by prosecutors to conclude the pre-trial stage of an investigation “does not imply illegality” of the decisions made in the process.

The court said prosecutors could be fined for delays, but that it has no bearing on the case itself.

The decision was given in response to a habeas corpus appeal by Dilvio Miranda, one of those arrested in the investigation into alleged acts of corruption regarding an irrigation project in Tonosí. The contract for the project was granted to the company Hidalgo & Hidalgo (H&H).

The court denied the request of the defendant and stated that the failure to meet the deadline in the case to complete the investigation did not mean the charges would be dismissed.

The ruling also applies to the investigation into alleged irregularities in the purchase of radars from a subsidiary of Finmeccanica.

Former security officials Jose Raul Mulino and Alejandro Garuz who were recently released from preventive detention are facing charges in that case.