Supreme Court raps stalling lawyers in FP $18 million fraud case

DEFENSE lawyers in one the many cases involving the failed Financial Pacific brokerage have received a verbal rap on the knuckles from Panama’s Supreme Court (CSJ) for stalling tactics that have led to a  preliminary hearing being suspended five times.

At the receiving end of the reprimand are  Kevin Moncada Luna and Zulay Rodríguez,   who are defending Mayte Pellegrini, former Financial Pacific employee.

The plenary of the Court (CSJ) told the pair  Pacific, to “avoid using legal initiatives that seek to delay the normal course of a criminal proceeding “related to an alleged embezzlement of $18 million by. the defunct brokerage

The reprimand is included in a statement released  by the CSJ  on April 30 in which it was reported that the plenary session of the Court  denied an explanation of the sentence issued on April 3 against an appeal for guarantees presented by the defense of Pellegrini against the decision of the Second Criminal Court, setting  May 18 for the next the preliminary hearing of the  case.

In the ruling of the CSJ, which had the endorsement of the magistrates Abel Zamorano, Oydén Ortega,Angela Russo, Asunción Alonso Mojica, Cecilio Cedalise, Hernán de León and Harry Díaz, the lawyers were told  to avoid “actions that conflict with the rules of loyalty and procedural probity with which the parties to this process must be conducted “.

The Court points out that the clarification requested by Pellegrini’s defense is not applicable. because they insist that

The preliminary hearing for this process has been suspended five times: 4 to 7

October 2016; March 6 to 8, 2017; October 2 to 5, 2017; December 18 to 20

2017; January 15 to 18, 2018

In addition to Pellegrini, the Public Ministry has called for the trial of: Carmen Puerta De León, Carlos Alberto Pellegrini, Marjorie Guerrero Rodríguez, Carlos Aníbal De León López, Marcial Antonio García Montiel, Raúl Demetrio Phillips, Hernán Cortez Rodríguez, Arturo Mitchell Donahoue Ortiz, Stefanie Quinn de Donahoue, Vivian Lizbeth Villarreal Andrión, Norman Castrellón Mendoza and Óscar Rodríguez.

Attorney General, Kenia Porcell, warned about the threats of prescription (delays) that exist against the investigation because this month the statute of limitations becomes effective and the birds will flee the coop.