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The Criminal Chamber of the Supreme Court of Justice confirmed the sentence against Ligia del Carmen Hernández Pérez, who served as 16 municipal civil judge of Bogotá and in that position he received a bribe in exchange for benefiting the businessman Carlos José Mattos Barrero, who is in Spain and whose extradition to Colombia was stopped by that country.
The case against Hernández began because in 2016 he was assigned a lawsuit brought by Hyundai Colombia Automotriz SA, owned by businessman Carlos Mattos, against Global Car World SAS
On April 29, 2016, a judicial inspection was carried out for which precautionary measures were ordered that led the judge to order Global Car to refrain from importing Hyundai products, leaving Mattos’ signature as the only authorized marketer in the country.
(Also read: Hyundai case: Court confirmed conviction of Dagoberto Rodríguez Niño)
According to the investigation against the judge, in May 2016, Dagoberto Rodríguez Niño, who at the time was a senior officer of the sixth civil court of the Bogotá circuit, and who knew Judge Hernández, was summoned by one of the lawyers of Mattos to a meeting in the north of Bogotá in which the businessman was also present. At that meeting, according to the investigation, Mattos told him to send him a gift of 50 million pesos to the judge for having ordered the precautionary measures.
And at the end of May, according to the process, the money was delivered by Rodríguez to Hernández in a shoe box, in the Salitre Plaza shopping center. Then, the file states, another delivery of money came at the Colsubsidio clinic in Bogotá, also of 50 million pesos sent by Mattos.
And between the last quarter of 2016 and January 2017, says the process, Hernández received three more deliveries of money that totaled 150 million pesos, also sent by Mattos.
In the middle of the process, the defense of the judge He assured that when he “received the gifts” that Mattos sent him, he no longer had in his office the demand promoted by the employer. But, in addition, he assured that the facts that the Prosecutor’s Office exposed him in the accusation – and for which he accepted charges – were not the same that he later read in the accusation.
(In addition: Spain stops the extradition of Carlos Mattos and grants him protection)
When reviewing the case, the Court found that it is true that the Prosecutor’s Office changed the alleged facts that the judge accepted as opposed to those that were later presented in the prosecution. For this reason, the Court confirmed his sentence of 20 months in prison (which does not allow a house for jail, for being crimes against the public administration), but only for a bribe of 30 million pesos, which was the one she accepted. In the middle of the judicial process, the judge returned those 30 million pesos.
In its ruling, the Court also scolds the Prosecutor’s Office, telling it that it must adjust its actions “to the legal system” because promptness and efficiency in the administration of justice depend on it.
“It is unacceptable that, given the clarity of the law on the content of the accusation and the accusation (…) at present, accusations such as the one transcribed above continue to be presented, which generate significant wear and tear on the administration of justice,” he said. court.
(Read: Hyundai case: Alex Vernot is released due to expiration of terms)
Finally, as the sentence was given only for the 30 million pesos that the judge accepted to have received, the Supreme Court certified copies to the Attorney General’s Office to verify if there were different crimes compared to the other monies that Judge Hernández received.
This case is different from that of the sixth civil circuit judge, who was also prosecuted for receiving bribes from Mattos. Dagoberto Rodríguez Niño, who received a sentence of six years and seven months in prison, worked in the sixth judge’s office.
JUSTICE
Twitter: @JusticiaET
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