Money laundering trial of 32 further delayed

The Second Settlement Court for Criminal Cases will begin the trial of 32 people investigated for money laundering in the case known as Lava Jato on June 22-July 6  after the trial set for Monday, May 8 was suspended as one of the defense lawyers presented a medical certificate.

The second prosecutor against organized crime, Isis Soto, announced that when the time for the alternate date arrives, if a lawyer presents an excuse, then the public defenders will act.

She stated that they will present testimonial evidence, and the prosecution will present its arguments in which it will request a conviction.

On October 4, 2022, the Superior Liquidation Court revoked the provisional dismissal granted by the second liquidator of criminal cases, Baloisa Martinez, to all those investigated.

The court considered that the Specialized Prosecutor’s Office against Organized Crime, evidence obtained in of Brazil on the activities of the Mossack Fonseca firm in the creation of companies through which allegedly illicit money would have moved.

The investigations by the prosecutor’s office revealed, according to the court, that those investigated participated “with conscience and will” in the creation of joint-stock and commercial companies, “with the presumed purpose of hiding money from criminal activities.”

Among the defendants in this case are Jurgen Mossack and Ramón Fonseca Mora Ramsés Owen, María Mercedes Riaño, Katia Solano, Ricardo Samaniego, Yakeline Pérez, Franklin Taylor, Carmen Wong, Edison Teano, Carlos Sousa Lennox, among others.