EspañolNine of the 10 suspects involved in the Dominican Republic’s Odebrecht corruption case have been released after the country’s Supreme Court found there was insufficient evidence to hold them.
Each of them was connected to a bribe scandal involving the Brazilian construction company Odebrecht, which has offered bribes to officials across Latin America in exchange for building project contracts. They were arrested this June but subsequently released this week.
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According to President of the Criminal Chamber of the Supreme Court Miriam Germán, records from the Prosecutor’s Office “do not have categorical or precise statements concerning the actions of the accused.”
“Given the present state of affairs for this process, and with the money spent on coercion, we are facing clear difficulties,” Germán said of the case.
The court is only keeping Ángel Randón in preventative custody, which will last one year, based on bribery accusations. The other nine people have been allowed to go.
One of the former prisoners, Temístocles Montás, was serving as Defense Minister of Industry and Commerce at the time of his arrest last May. Montás paid US $326,000 in fines, though he is still prohibited from leaving the country and must check in periodically with authorities.
The same deal were given to former Senate Leader Andrés Bautista, former Senator Ruddy González and former Director of Energy and Electricity Regulation Institute Radhamés Segura.
Senators Julio César Valentín and Tommy Galán are also involved in the case, and have been told to pay a fine and not leave the country. Neither of them appealed the ruling.
Only Bernardo Castellanos, who is currently outside of the country and wanted by Interpol, was absent from the process.
Sources: La Prensa; Telemundo; El Universal.