Seven of the 11 defendants in the Anti-Octopus Case were sent to the Najayo Jail in San Cristóbal where they are under temporary arrest as their case is heard in court. They are accused of participating in a mega-corruption scheme costing taxpayers upwards of RD$5 billion. They were transfered from the Ciudad Nueva Palace of Justice temporary detention center. On 8 December 2020, Judge Jose Alejandro Vargas ordered preventive custody for the seven.
The new Najayo jail inmates are Juan Alexis Medina Sanchez, charged with being the head of the corruption network. Also former Office of Supervisory Engineers of Public Works (OISOE) officials Francisco Pagan and Aquiles Cristofer Sanchez, and former Patrimonial Fund for Capitalized Enterprises (Fonper) director Fernando Rosa. Also, the alleged front men Julián Esteban Suriel Suazo, José Dolores Santana Carmona and Wacal Vernavel Méndez Pineda.
The arrests are made after the Justice Department prosecutors exposed a network of corruption with ties to Juan Alexis Medina Sánchez, brother of then President Danilo Medina (2012-2020), who is linked to a myriad of companies that were mega contractors to the state. The prosecution accused several of those now under arrest of serving as front men for Medina Sánchez companies.
Others accused in the case, Carmen Magalys Medina Sanchez (sister of former President Danilo Medina), former Minister of Public Health Lorenzo (Freddy) Hidalgo Núñez, former National Controller Rafael Germosén Andújar and businessman Domingo Santiago Muñoz, were ordered to home arrest, to wear electronic bracelets and post a RD$10 million bail.
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Attorney General Office
Diario Libre
El Dia
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Diario Libre
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10 December 2020