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Although his name does not appear in the prosecution’s laundering accusation against Álex Saab, EL TIEMPO established that his new defender in Colombia is the criminal lawyer Camilo Bocanegra, an expert in defending graduates, like former magistrate Francisco Ricaurte.
In communication with EL TIEMPO, Bocanegra explained that this week the material discovery of the evidence that the Prosecutor’s Office has against Saab, said figurehead of Nicolás Maduro, will be made. Only until then will he enter to evaluate them to prepare the trial.
(We invite you to read: Álex Saab: the tentacles and fortune of Maduro’s agent in 7 countries)
This is the most recent known image of the captured Alex Saab.
“We are awaiting the discovery of the evidence and in parallel the defense carries out forensic audits, as well as the Prosecutor’s Office. These have been in the hands of the Dijín, who appears in the case as judicial police,” the criminal lawyer.
And he added: “The preparatory hearing for the trial will be scheduled for mid-November.” And when asked if a negotiation was contemplated, he said they will go to trial.
(It may interest you: the US responds to Saab’s defense attack in the final phase of extradition)
And although he refrained from going into details, it was clear that he was hired by the Saab family in Colombia.
The designated figurehead of Nicolás Maduro, imprisoned in Cape Verde, hopes that in the coming days his extradition to the United States will be defined, which also requires it for money laundering, but through contracts with the Nicolás Maduro regime.
As confirmed by Bocanegra, the Prosecutor’s Office precluded the investigation of those close to Saab and only he and his accountant, Devis José Mendoza, were called to trial for money laundering through imports and exports.
Before a specialized Barranquilla judge, the Prosecutor’s Office accused them of alleged illicit financial maneuvers that represented losses for the State and led to an increase in their assets.
As EL TIEMPO revealed at the time, this case was discovered thanks to an alert from Bancóldex, which documented dozens of allegedly fictitious exports.
(Aemás: The story of the Colombian who enriched himself with the Maduro regime)
Bancóldex made it clear that Myer Stoe, one of the Australian firms to which Shatex said it sold 410 million pesos in merchandise, did not even receive a blouse. The find was made after an invoice discounting transaction.
And like you are, the Prosecutor’s Office and the Dijin found dozens of exports. In addition, the alteration of Shatex’s accounting shows that, being inactive, it was sold to Gastón Ureta Ariza, in 2014, because he would get the Government of Venezuela to pay them a hefty debt.
For this same case, properties have already been seized from Saab for more than 9 million dollars.
Saab was the legal representative, member of the board of directors and shareholder of the company Shatex SA, a firm with which he allegedly participated in maneuvers to “evade tax and customs responsibilities and give the appearance of legality to an irregular export and import scheme.”
In addition to the Saab case, the lawyer Camilo Bocanegra is leading processes like the one Otto Bula (convicted by Odebrecht) started against the Mendoza Fortich brothers, for allegedly extorting him to favor him in a termination case.
He is also the defender of the former governor of La Guajira José María Ballesteros and Jaime Blanco Maya, convicted in ordinary justice for the murder of two trade unionists who worked for the multinational coal company Drummond, in Cesar. Maya was accepted by the Special Jurisdiction for Peace (JEP), in the chapter on crimes against trade unionists.
His clients also include Jimmy Díaz, called to trial on charges of illegal mining.
INVESTIGATIVE UNIT
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