Ultima Hora newspaper reported that Article 13 of Law 5353 allows a judge to maintain in jail accused persons if there is substantial proof they are guilty, regardless of whether they could be freed on a technicality. Two Santamaría Gonell brothers that were accused by the Police of credit card and cash card fraud against Dominican banks for some US$20 million were issued a judgment for their release by a Dominican judge as the imprisonment order by a judicial authority was missing from the record. The Supreme Court has suspended the judges involved in the case. The District Attorney Francisco Domínguez did not heed the order for their release. The investigations revealed that the accused used sophisticated equipment to commit the fraud that principally affected the Bancrédito. The bank denounced the fraud to the Police in February of 1997.
