The Specialized Prosecutor’s Office for the Prosecution of Administrative Corruption (Pepca) submitted a request to the Third Court of Instruction of the National District for a four-month extension in the deadline to present charges against Alexis Medina Sánchez and the other accused for corruption and money laundering in the so-called Octopus Operation (Operacion Pulpo). The Pepca is an agency of the Attorney General Office.
Pepca states that it is making the request for various reasons. It is awaiting the findings of an ongoing investigation by the Chamber of Accounts of the Dominican Republic (CCRD), now under new members. The CCRD is in charge of auditing government offices.
The Pepca has charged former Medina administration officers of heading a corruption network that benefited from their ties to former President Danilo Medina Sanchez. Alexis Medina Sánchez is the brother of former President Medina. Also accused and investigated in the Octopus case are Medina’s sister Carmen Magalys Medina Sánchez, Francisco Pagán Rodríguez, Lorenzo Wilfredo Hidalgo Núñez, Rafael Antonio Germosén Andújar, Fernando A. Rosa Rosa, Aquiles Alejandro Christopher Sánchez, Domingo Antonio Santiago Muñoz, Julián Esteban Suriel Suazo, Wacal Vernavel Méndez Pineda and José Dolores Santana Carmona.
The Pepca explains that “as this investigation progresses, the situation of the defendants is becoming increasingly serious and complex, since they are not only being investigated for the initial facts presented in the coercive measure, but various lines of investigation have emerged,” with new complaints and accusations against the defendants in the Operation Octopus.
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Attorney General Office
6 August 2021