After releasing businessman Eduardo Andres Massanet Martinez yesterday, Tuesday 25 February, National District judge Jose Alejandro Vargas said that the Public Prosecution service did not present sufficient proof that he was linked to money laundering.
Vargas said that although the National District prosecutor had asked for the accused to be placed on remand in jail, being in possession of money was not in itself a crime in the Dominican Republic.
The court also heard that legally authorized transcriptions of telephone calls did not prove the accused was linked to drug trafficking.
At the hearing, the accused admitted that he had the US$499,440 in cash in his Porsche Cayenne but he said it was from his business selling clothes and shoes and he had the receipts from the bank where he purchased the dollars and other proof verified by Customs, to show the merchandise came from Panama and China.
He said that he had never had any problems with the law, his companies were properly registered and the authorities had made a mistake not only with him but also with his family; that they had three stores and that as far as he knew it was not illegal to withdraw money from the bank.
At the hearing his lawyer rejected the prosecutor’s demand for protective custody, saying that his client should either go free or be released on bail, but not to prevent him leaving the country as he had to travel abroad often on business.
According to El Dia, the DNCD president and the Attorney General both criticized the judge’s decision, saying that the prosecution service would appeal as they felt there was sufficient proof.
Meanwhile, it appears that Massanet Martinez also held the rank of Police Sergeant. PN spokesman Jacobo Mateo Moquete said that an order had been issued to dismiss him from the post.
El Dia reports that the DNCD delayed notifying the press of Massanet’s arrest until his release a week later.
www.listindiario.com/la-republica/2014/2/25/312125/Juez-justifica-decision-de-otorgar-libertad-a-hombre-que-ocuparon-casi
DNCD y Procurador critican puesta en libertad de hombre apresado con medio millón de dólares
Policía canceló sargento capturado con medio millón de dólares en su jeepeta
La DNCD se dilató siete días en anunciar decomiso de US$500 mil