Virzi bros postpone another court hearing

A MONEY-LAUNDERING hearing involving former Vice President Felipe Pipo Virzi, and 11 others was suspended for the second time by the  Eighteenth Criminal Court on Monday, January 16.

Virzi, involved in several corruption cases has a track   record of staving off hearings and convincing judges to release him from preventive detention,

The preliminary hearing was for alleged money laundering through funds from a loan granted by the  State savings bank, Caja de Ahorros (CA) to the HPC-Contratas P & V consortium.

The loan was granted for the alleged construction of a convention center in Amador, but the

money finally went to the accounts of the extinct Financial Pacific (FP) brokerage The hearing was suspended because the defense of Jose Isaac Virzi, brother of the ex-vice president filed a writ of habeas corpus last week before the Supreme Court and it has not yet been decided.

The hearing was originally set for December 12, but the eighteenth criminal judge, Baloisa Marquínez, ordered the suspension for a habeas corpus presented by Pipo Virzi.

In addition to the Virzi brothers,  nine others are facing trial including former FP directors -West Valdés and Iván Clare who are facing trial over the High Spirit Account at the brokerage.

This process began after the Public Prosecutor opened proceedings against former members of the Board of the Savings Bank – chaired then by Riccardo Francolini- for presumed embezzlement, in the loan approved to HPC-Contratas P & V. Pipo Virzi, his partner Ricardo Calvo and Jason Pastor are also investigated in the latter case along with Rodrigo Arosemena Pino, former manager and deputy manager, .of the CA