Zulay Rodríguez Investigations

[Moderator_03]

Quote

Supreme Court Rejects Habeas Corpus to Zulay Rodríguez

Posted 25/05/2024

A ruling by the Supreme Court of Justice (CSJ) declared non-viable a preventive habeas corpus filed by the defense of the former presidential candidate and deputy Zulay Rodríguez, within the process being followed for the alleged appropriation of gold bars belonging to the Mexican José Luis Penagos (RIP).  The appeal was presented by lawyer Ángel Álvarez, representing Rodríguez, against magistrate Ariadne García, who acts in this case as a guarantee judge.  The ruling was made public on the afternoon of this Friday, May 24, through Edict 576 and is signed by Judge Miriam Cheng Rosas; It had the saving vote of Judge Salvador Domínguez Barrios, substitute for Judge María Cristina Chen Stanziola. 

The appeal was presented within the process against Rodríguez for the alleged commission of money laundering crimes and the appropriation of 68 kilos of gold, property of Penagos.  The process is still in the Court (in charge of investigating and judging the deputies). This, despite the fact that Rodríguez - before the electoral elections on May 5 - publicly said she had resigned as a representative of the Democratic Revolutionary Party. However, the justice corporation has not received notification from the National Assembly about the aforementioned resignation. 

The case of Rodríguez - who was not a winner in the May 5 votes for the positions of president, mayor in the district of San Miguelito and deputy for free nomination - could go to the ordinary justice system, although she has stated that she will challenge the vote count for the position of representative in the circuit 8-2.  The Court also has pending resolution of two guarantee protections presented by Rodríguez within this process.  In the complaint by Juan David Penagos and his mother, Diana Clemencia Ríos Cardona, it is detailed that José Luis Penagos (RIP) was arrested in 2009 at the Tocumen International Airport for carrying 68 kilos of gold sheets.  Penagos hired Rodríguez to defend him in 2013, but it was alleged – as stated before in Newsroom Panama in a 3 part series – that she appropriated the gold. 

https://www.newsroompanama.com/news/supreme-court-rejects-habeas-corpus-to-zulay-rodriguez

[Moderator_03]

Quote

Remember the 68 Kilos of Gold ‘Penagos’ Case Involving Zulay Rodríguez?

 September 15, 2024

Attorney Rafael Araúz Canto, partner of former deputy Zulay Rodríguez, was arrested this week as part of the process for the appropriation of 68 kilos of gold owned by Mexican merchant José Luis Penagos, now deceased.  The Araúzes are being investigated for the complaint filed by Juan David Penagos Ríos, for the alleged commission of at least four crimes: against economic assets (in the forms of theft with breach of trust and fraud), against economic order (money laundering), against collective security (criminal association) and against the administration of justice (prevarication).

https://menafn.com/1108083042/The-Zulay-Rodri%CC%81guez-Story-Part-3

https://newsroompanama.com/2024/09/15/remember-the-68-kilos-of-gold-penagos-case-involving-zulay-rodriguez/

[Moderator_03]

Quote

Former MP Zulay Rodríguez Charged for Keeping the Penagos Gold Bars

 October 28, 2024

After four attempts in the Judicial Branch and another in the ordinary courts, former PRD deputy Zulay Rodríguez was finally charged with the alleged commission of the crime of aggravated fraud, in the case of the appropriation of gold sheets or bars belonging to the deceased Mexican José Luis Penagos.  The arraignment hearing was held on Monday, October 28, 2024, before the judge of guarantees Fermín Bonilla.  During the court event, Judge Bonilla accepted the charges brought by prosecutor Elizabeth Carrión for the alleged commission of the crime of aggravated fraud, but declared the criminal action for the crime of criminal association to commit a crime to be prescribed.  The statute of limitations for both crimes had been requested by attorney Félix Humberto Paz, Rodríguez’s defense attorney, considering that more than 10 years have passed since the crime under investigation was committed.  The judge only accepted the request for a statute of limitations in the case of the crime of illicit association, which carries a sentence of 3 to 5 years in prison. In the case of aggravated fraud – which carries a sentence of 5 to 10 years in prison – this would have materialized in 2018, when the gold sheets were delivered to Rodríguez. If you need further information, NewsroomPanama.com has many stories online.

The judge declared a recess, to allow time for Juan David Penagos, son of the deceased Mexican businessman, to join the hearing, even if it is virtually. The defense claims that Penagos Jr. will withdraw his claim, but the judge needs the complainant to communicate this directly.  During the course of the hearing, Judge Bonilla repeatedly called Rodriguez’s defense attorney’s attention because, during the questioning phase of the prosecution, he tried to introduce elements that correspond to the intermediate phase of the process.  Meanwhile, outside the court facilities where the hearing was taking place, a group of people were demonstrating with signs calling for the charges against the former PRD deputy to be dropped.  José Luis Penagos, a former client of Rodríguez, hired her in 2013, four years after he was arrested at Tocumen Airport for transporting 68 kilos of undeclared gold sheets or bars. During his lifetime, Penagos accused the former congresswoman of keeping his gold, although she maintains that said gold was payment for her professional services.  In relation to this case, there is a second investigation file in which Álvaro Testa and Rafael Araúz, Rodríguez’s husband and partner, respectively, are implicated, as well as Luz Eneida Canto, Araúz’s mother.  The prosecution has issued warrants for Testa and Araúz to appear and face trial.

https://newsroompanama.com/2024/10/28/former-mp-zulay-rodriguez-charged-for-keeping-the-gold-bars/

[Moderator_03]

Quote

Zulay Rodríguez Reached a Financial Agreement in the Gold Bullion Case

 October 29, 2024

Former PRD deputy Zulay Rodríguez was charged Monday October 28 with the alleged commission of the crime of aggravated fraud in relation to the appropriation of gold sheets belonging to the deceased Mexican José Luis Penagos. Hours later, a judge ordered the case to be filed.  The hearing began at 8:30 am on Monday, presided over by the judge of guarantees Fermín Bonilla. During the hearing, Judge Bonilla accepted the charges presented by the prosecutor Elizabeth Carrión for the crime of aggravated fraud, but declared the criminal action for the crime of illicit association to commit a crime prescribed.  At around 11:30 a.m., the judge declared a recess to allow time for Juan David Penagos, son of the deceased Mexican businessman, to join the hearing, albeit virtually. The hearing resumed at 2:00 p.m. At that time, Edwin Aldeano, attorney for Juan David Penagos, explained that his client was willing to connect electronically with the court and give a clear explanation of the agreement reached with Zulay Rodríguez.

Penagos connected via Zoom and told the judge that he had spoken with Rodríguez and that they reached an agreement, so he decided to drop the complaint filed against the former deputy. He indicated that he was compensated financially, although the amount of the agreement was not revealed.  The judge asked Penagos if he had been threatened or pressured to reach the agreement, to which he replied no. He also asked him if he had been compensated financially and if he was satisfied with the negotiation, to which he replied yes.  For her part, prosecutor Elizabeth Carrión explained that, in the case of the crime of fraud, it is possible to reach a withdrawal agreement between the parties, and that she had no objections to this.  Meanwhile, attorney Félix Humberto Paz, Rodríguez’s defense attorney, requested that this withdrawal also be extended to the other three people accused of the same crime in a separate file. He alleged that it was a “rigged” case with which they tried to harm his client during the last electoral tournament, but that it has been proven that no crime was committed.

In relation to this case, there is a second investigation in which Álvaro Testa and Rafael Araúz , Rodríguez’s husband and partner, respectively, are involved, as well as Luz Eneida Canto, Araúz’s mother.  Once outside the courtroom, the former deputy assured the media that both she and Juan David Penagos were victims of people interested in harming her political campaign.  The story goes back to 2009, when goldsmiths José Luis Penagos and Luis Felipe Mendoza were detained upon arrival at Tocumen International Airport for failing to declare a load of gold sheets that had been confiscated from them. In 2013, Penagos hired lawyers Zulay Rodríguez and Rafael Araúz to recover the gold, but after some time, both lawyers claimed the sheets as payment for their legal services, to which Penagos’ family responded by filing a complaint with the Public Prosecutor’s Office.

https://newsroompanama.com/2024/10/29/zulay-rodriguez-reached-a-financial-agreement-in-the-gold-bullion-case/