Judge has 30 days to rule on guilt of Martinelli’s ex-secretary
The Third Liquidating Judge of Criminal Cases, Baloisa Marquínez, accepted the term to decide the guilt of De Obarrio, who is a fugitive in Italy and was notified via judicial assistance. In the trial, the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor requested a conviction for the crime of money laundering for receiving bribes from businessmen.
Víctor Collado, Obarrio’s lawyer, requested the suspension of the hearing on the grounds that his client had not been notified. He argued that there was an extradition process.
The Prosecutor’s Office in charge of, Aurelio Vásquez, questioned the Court arguing that there was an extradition order and that he did know the whereabouts of Obarrio. The Court’s response reported that the necessary procedures were carried out to request Obarrio’s extradition, but it was not formalized. In addition, the exact place of residence of the requested person in Italy is known, for which reason he was notified.
The case is related to the investigation that the Office of the Attorney General began in September 2017, and is related to the Blue Apple Services company, created by several former officials with the purpose of allegedly laundering the money they received, paid as bribes, and that they came from State funds, by construction companies that carried out projects with the national government in the period 2010-2014, for which they also used the local and international banking system.
A hearing is scheduled in July against 26 people for the crime of money laundering, 11 of these also for illicit association and 2 for corruption of public officials.
