The resolution that The Constitutional Court (CC) against Alejandro Sinibaldi issued a week ago He revived a key phase of the Odebrecht case. However, the reactivation of the case may not be immediate and the defense of the former Minister of Communications trusts that it will not be prono, for a second resource pending to be also resolved by the CC.
Abraham Girón, a defense lawyer of Sinibaldi, explained that there is not even a probable date to comply with what was ordered by the CC and reopen the trial. He assures that his client is calm, since the Court ruling does not represent a direct impact on the case, of which he was already dismissed on one occasion.
Alejandro Sinibaldi served as Minister of Communications during the government of the former patriotic party (PP). According to investigations from the Public Ministry (MP), a considerable part of the officials of said administration would have been involved in corruption structures.
One of those cases is Odebrecht, for which tax agents accused and requested to bring to trial to Sinibaldi for the crimes of money laundering and passive bribery. It is presumed that Sinibaldi received about US $ 17 million in bribes, in exchange for awarding infrastructure projects in favor of the company.
In the opening phase to trial, the judge in charge of the case dismissed the accusations of the MP, but through an appeal it was ordered that Sinibaldi be to trial. However, the defense obtained A provisional amparo that stopped the case, causing the appeal that was already resolved by the CC.
They remain importance
But, despite the constitutional instruction for the former minister to face trial, the defense lawyer of Sinibaldi ensures that the appeal resolved was when they obtained A provisionalsame as last year obtained the final resolution in favor, which motivated another appeal that has not been resolved in the CC.
“Here much is missing to go in the process, since the first amparo was already conceived in favor of us. That provisional protection does not cause any real effect on the file, it is not definitive,” said Girón.
Sinibaldi, according to his lawyer, received the resolution without major problem: “The important resolution is not, it is the other,” indicating that it does not see that an audience will be summoned soon.
Even the lawyer points out that they obtained The provisional, and subsequent definitive To stop the accusation, because the MP made mistakes, including exposing alleged means of investigation that are not part of the file.
“They failed to identify the existence of these means of proof, therefore the first instance was overwhelmed by saying that a room orders based on non -existent documents. It is a very strong point of law that is on the part of my sponsor to worry about,” he said.
Since it was known about the resolution of the CC, doubts arose about the permanence of Sinibaldi in the country. By consulting his lawyer on that point, he said that he “believes” that he is in the country. He even assured that he appears as his legal president, so there would be no problem if his client chooses to travel.
Key phase
For analyst Edgar Ortiz, law expert, the CC activated one of the most important phases of the case of alleged international bribes. They emphasize that the role of the former minister, according to the accusation, was leading, since it would have been the person who received the bribes.
“It is a long -awaited resolution, I think that a long time passed in the CC this Amparo appeal because this was decided since March last year by the CSJ. Times also attract attention, that it has been so delayed and that it comes out when another investigation is announced within the framework of this case,” said Ortiz.
Recently the MP presented a new phase of the case, where former prosecutors are attacked and even formerly from the International Commission against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG), Iván Velásquez.
“The case that the Prosecutor’s Office was announcing with bombs and dishes has great absent and are the accused of receiving bribes. This piece seems to me the most important of the case because the Prosecutor’s Office has focused on the officers in charge of the case and had paid less attention to the most important part of the plot: who received the bribes,” the analyst emphasized.
For Francisco Quezada, an analyst at the National Economic Research Center (one hundred), the defense strategy is likely to be delayed as much as possible, since the resolution, to its consideration, is clear: send the former official to debate.
“While the defense seems that your best ally is to postpone the issues, you will look for the resources that remain, issues that can go to challenges and nullities. Everything they can, if you suit them, postpone it,” Quezada said.
For the lawyer, the quality of the evidence and testimonies that the MP has in the debate phase must be evaluated in detail, since to its consideration, the CICIG sought to promote its image with high -impact cases for just obtaining financing.
“Cicig sought trophies to arrive with their cooperators and have more cooperation. They used strategies to stop the issue of the commission, so they sought cooperation agreements where they did not seek so much prosecute those responsible and the people who generated them a target to capture funds,” he added.
They expect audience
Prosecutor Rafael Curruchiche, head of the Special Prosecutor’s Office against Impunity (FECI), says they were already notified. Now it only remains that the judge in charge of the case calls them a hearing.
“With this, what has circulated many times through social networks and media, that we have protected some people, which is not true. What happens is that everything carries its process and we exhaust it,” said Curruchiche.
Although the Chief of the FECI says that it does not know how close the audience could be, since it must be verified that the resolution is definitive and that there are no pending resources.
“They order that it is sent to debate and that is what would proceed, since it is already a definitive failure. Later more instances and actions would come, which I imagine will take the defense of the defendant,” he concluded.
In the Court of greatest risk D is scheduled for June 12 a hearing of the Odebrecht case; It is an acceptance of charges for lawyer Jorge Segura. Hearing where the judge in charge could rule for the recent resolution of the CC that orders trial for Sinibaldi.