Following an order from a Barranquilla judge, within the investigation that Álex Saab is being tracked in Colombia for money laundering operations, several banks in the country are at a legal crossroads.
EL TIEMPO found that in a reserved audience It started on February 11 at 8 a.m. and has lasted at least 2 hours, his defense has requested and obtained access to information labeled “reserved”.
(We invite you to read: Álex Saab’s family was transferred from Caracas to Moscow)
Nicolás Maduro’s appointed figurehead is accused of extracting about $ 16.4 million from the country, simulating the amount of the refund of exports, the majority to Venezuela, through the company Shatex SA, of which he has 84 percent of the shares. and their legal representation.
(You might be interested: for Cape Verde, Saab is not a diplomat and has no immunity)
It is clear to the public prosecutor firm experienced exponential growth of 923 percent and that made millionaire exports that never entered the country. In fact, there is a manipulation of his accounting and the concealment of his economic reality.
Camilo Bocanegra, Álex Saab’s new lawyer, says he excludes any negotiation at this stage in the process.
Right of defense?
Although Saab now claims to be the Venezuelan and plenipotentiary ambassador of the Maduro dictatorship in Africa, in this case he will be issued a Colombian identity card.
(Also: Alex Saab was transferred to a secret place, heavily guarded)
During the hearing, to which EL TIEMPO had access, his trusted attorney, the criminal defense attorney Camilo Bocanegra, said he had, without luck, passed several petitions to a ministry, Dian and banks, asking for information that he describes as conducive, necessary and relevant to defend his client, who is currently imprisoned in Cape Verde and awaiting his extradition to the United States.
This is the act of requesting access to the information.
“The reserved information is required to develop our defense theory and for the forensic accounting opinion that will be presented as evidence in the oral process
“The reserved information is needed to develop our defense theory and for the forensic accounting report that will be presented as evidence at the oral trial,” Bocanegra’s criminal defense attorney said at the hearing, and this was endorsed by EL TIEMPO.
And he said he went to a constitutional judge because neither Dian nor any of the banks wanted to give him the information, claiming it was confidential.
(Additionally: Cape Verde Issues 5 Warnings About Extradition of Álex Saab)
“They were given a 15-day deadline and one of the banks responded to me. Moreover, neither the Public Prosecution Service, nor the victims’ lawyer (Bancóldex) has opposed my request, ”explains Bocanegra.
The Specialized Directorate for Extinction of Domain Rights, with the support of the CTI, has imposed safeguards on six (6) properties owned by businessman Alex Naim Saab Morán
Office of the Attorney General of the Nation
‘Damage to the system’
According to Guillermo Puyana, a criminal expert on financial crimes, access to information on Suspicious Transaction Reports (ROS) is illegal.
“The STRs have no probative value, they are intelligence reports and are only an exclusive guiding criterion for the Intelligence and Financial Analysis Unit (Uiaf) and for the Public Prosecution Service,” said Puyana.
(In context: America’s secret plan so that Alex doesn’t run Saab)
And, in his opinion, the judge of the warranty control should have refused access to that information, because the defense can use it as evidence that the law excludes: “If that information has no value in court, then you have to see what the true purpose is to violate the system so seriously.”
In addition, it would harm the banking system in the face of international scenarios; opinion shared by financial intelligence experts consulted by this newspaper.
(See all articles of the EL TIEMPO research unit here) Preparatory hearings for the Álex Saab trial in Colombia will begin on June 11, and his defense says he will not act as a guardian for those who refuse to respond to the request, but will leave a record in the process.
RESEARCH UNIT
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