Supreme Court Judge Francisco Ortega Polanco sent six of the seven implicated in the Odebrecht case to trial on Friday, 22 June 2019. These are Víctor Díaz Rúa, former minister of Public Works; Ángel Rondón, commercial representative of Odebrecht in the DR; lawyer Conrado Pittaluga; PLD senator Tommy Galán; former Dominican Revolutionary Party (PRD) senator Andrés Bautista García and Roberto Rodríguez, former director of the National Institute of Potable Water and Sewerage (Inapa). The seventh accused by the Attorney General prosecutors, former president of the Senate Jesús (Chu) Vásquez then of the PRD, was excluded from the group.
Commenting on the decision by the judge, accused Victor Diaz Rua observed “everyone’s missing here (“aquí falta to’ el mundo”).
The case dates back to when the US Department of Justice revealed on 21 December 2016 that Odebrecht officials admitted to paying US$92 million in bribes in the Dominican Republic to obtain public work contracts from 2001 to 2014. Odebrecht would carry out 17 major public infrastructure works.
In his ruling, Judge Francisco Ortega Polanco stated that corruption cases do not expire.
Read more in Spanish:
Listin Diario
PGR
El Dia
24 June 2019