The Third Chamber of the Criminal Court of Appeals in the National District ruled that the trial in the Los Tres Brazos real estate case should have been suspended until the Supreme Court reviewed appeals from the involved parties, Diario Libre reports. The case looks into the controversial sale of over four million square meters in the Los Tres Brazos area. The case was first heard in November 2016.
The Third Chamber of the Criminal Court of Appeals in the National District has annulled in its entirety the ruling that had declared the end of criminal proceedings against public officials and businesspeople accused in the irregular sale of land in the Los Tres Brazos area. The case now returns to the lower courts for further legal proceedings.
The decision overturned ruling 941-2024-SSEN00082 issued by the Fourth Collegiate Court of the National District, which had concluded the case against former director of the Dominican Corporation of State Enterprises (Corde) Leoncio Almanzar Objío, Manuel Joaquín Aybar Ferrando, Irving José Cruz Crespo, Carlos Aris Gómez Williams, Julio César Gómez Williams, and Domingo Gerardo Lebrón de los Santos. A new trial will also be held for Lisetel Gonzáles Sánchez, Juana Ynés Gómez Williams, and the corporate entities Proyecciones Inmobiliarias Gowi, Fernández Parache y Asociados (Infepa), Soluciones Eléctricas Sidenet, and Tekknowlogic Dominicana.
The Third Chamber of the Court of Appeals ruled that the Fourth Collegiate Court should have suspended the trial until the Supreme Court of Justice resolved the appeals filed against a prior ruling. The earlier decision had dismissed charges against several accused individuals, while the First Chamber of the Court of Appeals had ordered the case to proceed to trial. This procedural oversight led to the annulment of the decision.
The Third Chamber of the Court of Appeals was presided over by Judges Pedro Antonio Sánchez Rivera, Daniel Julio Nolasco Olivo, July Elizabeth Tamaríz Núñez, and Mariana Daneira García Castillo.
The judges of the Fourth Collegiate Court who issued the initial ruling on the case were Keila S. Pérez Santana, Elías Santini Perera, and Arisleida Méndez Batista. These same judges had also declared the closure of the prosecution in the Tucano bribery case involving military personnel and businessmen. This ruling was also appealed and is expected to be reviewed in a separate decision to be announced next Friday, 20 December 2024.
In October 2024, the Third Chamber of the Civil Court of the National District’s Land Jurisdiction declared the 2010 land sale in the Los Tres Brazos area illegal. This sale had been carried out by Corde. On14 October, the court issued ruling 0313-2024-S-00140, declaring the partial nullity of a framework agreement signed on February 25, 2010, between the Dominican Cement Factory (Fábrica Dominicana de Cemento, C. por A.), the Dominican Industrial Footwear Company (Sociedad Comercial Dominicana Industrial de Calzados, C. por A.), and Inversiones Fernández Parache & Asociados (Infepa).
Timeline of the case
Giving background on the case, Diario Libre explains that the accused were arrested in July 2018. In June 2022, they were granted a dismissal of charges. However, in December 2023, the First Penal Chamber of the Court of Appeals partially accepted an appeal filed by the Public Prosecutor’s Office, ordering a new trial for some of the accused, who had previously been granted the dismissal of charges.
In the same decision, the court upheld the dismissal of charges against several individuals, including Rosabel Castillo, former registrar of titles; Ana Antonia Ozuna Nolasco and Hadonis Ruiz Mella, both surveyors; and José Enrique de Pool Dominici, the main shareholder and representative of the real estate entity Titulatec. This decision is currently under review by the Supreme Court, which is expected to issue its ruling soon.
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Diario Libre
17 December 2024