32 defendants in Lavo Jato laundering trial

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32 defendants in Lavo Jato laundering trial

 

Mossack and Fonseca of Panama Papers fame.Posted 23/06/2023

The trial of the " Lava Jato " [Car Wash] case begins  Monday, June 26 to July 7 am before the Second Criminal Court.

The 32 people linked to the alleged crime of money laundering where the evacuation of 15 testimonial evidence is expected.

The judge, Baloisa Marquínez will have the participation of nine private technical defenders, and in the event of the absence of any of them, the court has appointed seven alternate public defenders, in order to guarantee the right defense, reported the Judicial Branch in a press release.

The trial will be broadcast on the YouTube platform of the Judicial Branch, with the aim of guaranteeing the principles of publicity and transparency, the press release states.

The investigation was carried out by the Special Prosecutor's Office against Organized Crime in 2016, after news events related to the "Lava Jato" operation in Brazil. The file has 299 volumes.

Some of the accused are Jurgen Mossack and Ramón Fonseca Mora (directors of the defunct Mossack Fonseca film and protagonists in the Panama Papers scandal); Ramses Owen; Maria Mercedes Riano; Katia Solano; Ricardo Samaniego; Yakeline Perez; Franklyn Taylor; Carmen Wong; Edison Teano; Carlos Sousa Lennox, among others.

https://www.newsroompanama.com/news/32-defendants-in-lavo-jato-laundering-trial

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Lava Jato prosecutor asks for 8 hours to present arguments

Posted 29/06/2023

On the fourth day of the hearing of the "Lava Jato" case, the intervention of five defense witnesses was scheduled, and the pleadings stage began.

During the first three days of the trial, presided over by the second liquidator judge of Criminal Cases, Baloisa Marquínez, the experts and witnesses summoned first by the Prosecutor's Office and then those of the defense lawyers of the 32 cases involved participated.

The second superior prosecutor against Organized Crime, Isis Soto, said that the first witness on Wednesday made a complete analysis of the case file and the analyst who installed the program to analyze the material seized from the Mossack Fonseca law firm also testified.  

Soto asked the judge for eight hours to present her final arguments. At the beginning of the argument period, prosecutor Soto detailed each of the 32 involved in the case and told the judge that during her intervention she will detail what she will ask for each of them.

She also expressed that she will prove how illegal goods were covered up and hidden.

Soto clarified to those present at the trial that illegal acts were also committed in Brazil. She also stressed that the crime of money laundering affects the Panamanian economy and all the countries where it is committed.

https://www.newsroompanama.com/news/lava-jato-prosecutor-asks-for-8-hours-to-present-arguments

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Prosecutor asks for up to 12-year sentence for Lava Jato quartet

Isis Soto

Posted 30/06/2023

Isis Soto, Second Specialized Prosecutor against Organized Crime, called on June 29  for, a sentence of 5 to 12 years jail time for Jürgen Mossack and Ramón Fonseca Mora, co-founders of the extinct firm Mossack Fonseca, for the alleged commission of the crime of money laundering, in the  Lava Jato case.

The prosecutor requested the same penalty for Edison Teano and María Mercedes Riaño, two former collaborators of the firm.

The four are part of the group of 32 people prosecuted in the court of criminal judge Baloisa Marquínez. The prosecution has maintained throughout the process that they are accused not of the sale and constitution of public limited companies, but of allegedly facilitating the crime of money laundering through companies and foundations, and providing services as legal professionals, activities headlined around the world as “The Panama Papers” which spawned a Netflix movie.

The prosecutor maintained that Mossack Fonseca used the national financial system to hide funds from illegal activities. She maintains that both the firm and Mossack Fonseca do Brasil (in charge of Riaño) carried out innumerable financial transactions with money of illicit origin.

He also explained that thanks to the investigations carried out by the Brazilian authorities, it was possible to establish that the Brazilians Mario Goes, Renato Sousa, David Muino, Roberto Trombeta, Ademir Aguada, and Pedro Barusco, all prosecuted in that country for financial crimes, laundering, and corruption, hid funds through various limited companies linked to Mossack Fonseca do Brasil.

Although Guillermina McDonald, a lawyer for the partners Mossack and Fonseca Mora, has said that the firm had no relationship with the Brazilian office, since the owner of it was Riaño, the prosecutor maintains that it has been proven that clients in Brazil, like Aguada and Trombeta, were given care and services when they visited Panama.

She also explained that the prosecutor's office managed to provide in the file a series of red alerts issued by the Financial Analysis Unit (UAF) on Mossack and Fonseca Mora for suspicious transactions.

The prosecutor assured that Riaño,  destroyed information related to the activities of Mossack Fonseca do Brasil, fearing a raid by the Brazilian Federal Police. In addition, it was verified that she received cash from her clients in Brazil.

Soto said it is clear that Riaño hid and covered up the transactions of Mossack Fonseca do Brasil (a company incorporated in the British Virgin Islands in 2009), despite the fact that the company did not show operations in Brazilian territory.

The prosecutor alleged that Teano maintained a high degree of participation in the operations of Mossack Fonseca and that he appeared as a representative of the firm in Brazil made constant trips to Brazil to promote the firm's services to potential clients and is described as the link between the offices of both countries.

She explained that in the raid carried out by the DIJ at Teano's residence, information was found related to orders to destroy emails related to activities in Brazil.

https://www.newsroompanama.com/news/prosecutor-asks-for-up-to-12-year-sentence-for-lava-jato-quartet

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Lava Jato  prosecutor requests jail terms for 28

Prosecutor asks for up to 12 year sentence for for JURGEN MOSSACK and 27 others.

Posted 01/07/2023

The Second Specialized Prosecutor against Organized Crime, Isis Soto, requested the conviction of 28 of the 32 defendants for alleged money lau9, in the Lava Jato case.

On Friday, June 30, Soto insisted that the extinct firm Mossack Fonseca established a broad scheme to hide funds from illegal activities, through the creation of offshore companies and facilitating other services.

She requested an acquittal for four, as the elements provided in the file are not sufficient to establish their link to the crime under investigation.

In contrast, she requested a sentence of five to 12 years in prison for Jürgen Mossack and Ramón Fonseca Mora, co-founders of Mossack Fonseca, and various executives and lawyers of the firm

The prosecutor began her allegations on Thursday, June 29, and finished them on Friday.

She alleged that Ramses Owens carried out direct actions to cover up and hide actions related to the creation of companies and their beneficial owners.

Sandra Naranjo de Cornejo, director of human resources at Mossack Fonseca facilitated the incorporation of companies without due diligence on the instructions of the firm's executives.

The prosecutor mentioned the statement given by Elba Betancourt, who reached a collaboration agreement with the prosecution. Betancourt stated that it was common practice to sign blank documents and that this was done on large reams of paper.

Katia Solano, in charge of the compliance section of Mossack Fonseca, was aware of the irregular situations.

Solano and other officials acted as nominal directors of many companies created by Mossack Fonseca.

Luis Adonay Martiínez, Mossack Fonseca's computer chief, participation in the crime was proven by being the person who blocked the firm's computer system when the Brazilian Federal Police tried to enter to obtain information.

Carlos Sousa-Lennox, supervised Riaño's activities in Brazil. As head of the marketing department, he pressured Riaño to increase the sale of corporations. Ernesto González, concealed the origin of the funds from Brazil and collaborated in the training of FP Bank Brasil personnel for the creation of companies.

The participation of both as secondary accomplices for helping the main perpetrators by covering up and hiding the origin of illicit goods, for which reason she requested a conviction.

THE INSTRUCTOR
Rubén Hernández, general manager of Mossack Fonseca, was linked to the facts investigated because he was in charge of giving instructions to the rest of the staff and approved the powers granted to Owens for the operation of a subsidiary in Zurich, Switzerland.

Other defendants participated as nominal directors of a multiplicity of companies of which no final recipient was known and they also signed blank documents to comply with these procedures. Some were even signers on bank accounts.

These defendants requested credit cards for the companies without knowing their final recipient, which in her opinion constituted an irregular activity. They also appear in companies in favor of David Muino, convicted in Brazil for money laundering crimes. Muino, according to Brazilian authorities, was an employee of Mossack Fonseca Do Brasil.

https://www.newsroompanama.com/news/lava-jato-prosecutor-requests-jail-terms-for-28

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Lava Jato defendant says call for jail “unbelievable”

Posted 04/07/2023

On the last day of the trial in the Lava Jato case , Jürgen Mossack , co-founder of the defunct firm Mossack Fonseca and one of the 32 defendants for alleged money laundering, addressed criminal judge Baloisa Marquínez .

Mossack, , considered that the prosecution attributes a "non-existent" crime to him, that Mossack Fonseca created more than 250,000 companies for lawful purposes, that his firm was a pioneer in applying due diligence to its clients and that they want him to go to prison, at 75 years of age, is "unbelievable".

“I have seen during these days, because I show my face, I sit in front... I have seen that you have listened very patiently to both the prosecution and the defense. I believe that you have paid much attention to everything. I thank you for your patience. I am sure that in the end you will make the wisest decision possible,"

In order for Mossack to have a chance to speak, his lawyer Guillermina McDonald (who also defends the co-founder of the firm, Ramón Fonseca Mora , and Edison Teano and Sandra Naranjo de Cornejo ) asked the judge to listen to her client for “five minutes”, to which Marquínez agreed.

His partner Ramón Fonseca did not personally go to Judge Marquínez's room and followed the development of the trial electronically.

 For both, the prosecution requested up to 12 years in prison, the same as for 26 other defendants.

Mossack said he has practiced as a lawyer since 1973 and has never had "runs with the law of any kind", except for a traffic ticket for speeding.

He reiterated that he is not "responsible" for the charges against him, but that he is responsible for other things, "such as providing employment for some 650 families between Panama and abroad, as well as having established, together with my partner and the staff from my office, some 250,000 companies, of which some accounts have been mentioned during the trial and which apparently may have been used for illegal purposes by some end customers”.

"We were a law firm that did things well for many years and now the prosecution wants me to be sentenced to eight years in prison for a non-existent crime at the age of 75, that, Madam Judge, is implausible," he said.

https://www.newsroompanama.com/news/lava-jato-defendant-says-call-for-jail-unbelievable