The Dominican Republic became somewhat of a laughingstock when it failed to convict two of the major figures in the Odebrecht Scandal: Public Works Minister Victor Diaz Rua, and the bagman Angel Rondon. In every other nation where the Brazilian construction company Odebrecht operated and bribed public officials, there are ministers and even presidents in jail for taking bribes. In the Dominican case, the company admitted some US$92 million were given to Rondon to ensure government contracts. This was stated in trials in Brazil and New York City whereby Odebrecht officials stood trial for their bribe modus operandi.
As a result of the stunning dismissal and reversal of a lower court’s conviction and sentencing of Diaz Rua and Rondon by the Supreme Court, the prosecutor for the Specialized Office Against Administrative Corruption, Wilson Camacho, has asked the Constitutional Court to annul the decision taken at the end of July 2024 by the Supreme Court.
In the 52-page file sent to the Constitutional Court, the prosecutor asks the court of last resort to return the case to the Second Penal Chamber of the Supreme Court so that this chamber can take a close look at the evidence in strict adherence to the criteria that judges on the high court are obliged to observe with regards to fundamental rights.
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Listin Diario
16 September 2024