The criminal proceedings in which the former president of the FMLN republic, Salvador Sánchez Cerén (2014-2019), is prosecuted for receiving bonuses, as well as the one involving ten former officials of the government of the fugitive Mauricio Funes (2009-2014), who They are prosecuted for the Public Looting case and already have a date for the last phases.
In the Sánchez Cerén case, he must face trial for accusations of receiving $530,000 as bonuses when he served as vice president of the republic during the Funes administration (2009-2014). Along with him, there are six other former officials who must submit to the public hearing of the criminal proceedings for the crimes of money and asset laundering, and illicit enrichment.
Among those accused is the former Minister of Public Works, Gerson Martínez, who is accused of having received $290,000; José Guillermo López Suárez, former Minister of Agriculture and Livestock ($565,000); Lina Pohl, former Minister of the Environment (177,000); and Manuel Melgar, former Minister of Public Security ($150,000), all have fugitive status, and if they do not appear at trial they will be prosecuted as absent prisoners. In the case of the former Minister of Labor, Calixto Mejía, who received $208,000, he was the only one who has appeared in court throughout the process.
Everyone must appear before the Sixth Sentencing Court of San Salvador on August 20, the date on which the trial begins, which is expected to conclude on the 30th of that same month. Previously, all those mentioned must appear on April 3 to be informed of the accusations.
In this same case, the former Minister of Health, Violeta Menjívar ($177,000), the former Vice Minister of Science and Technology, Erlinda Hándal ($162,000), the former Vice Minister of Agriculture, Hugo Flores, have already confessed their crimes and returned the money received illicitly to the State. , the former Minister of Finance ($174,000), while Carlos Cáceres, former Minister of Finance, returned $210,000.
The previous former officials confessed to the crimes in exchange for a light sentence consisting of one year for illicit enrichment and two for money laundering, replaceable time with public utility work and the payment of the amounts of money they received as bonuses.
“PUBLIC LOOTING” RULING WILL BE IN MARCH
While the final resolution in the case called “Public Looting”, in which Mauricio Funes is accused of stealing $351 million from public funds, will be announced on March 15.
The reading of this ruling was scheduled to be announced last week in the First Sentencing Court of San Salvador, but was rescheduled because the prosecutors in the case were focused on verifying the process of the final scrutiny of the last elections. Funes faces this case separately.
Those who have been prosecuted and are awaiting the ruling are the former first lady, Vanda Pignato, the former president of Cifco, Miguel Menéndez, as well as the former Secretary of Communications of the Presidency, David Rivas; the former Institutional Financial Manager, Francisco Rodríguez Arteaga; the former president of Banco Hipotecario, Manuel Rivera Castro; the former head of the Treasury, Jorge Alberto Herrera Castellano; the former head of Accounting, Rigoberto Palacios Panameño, and the financial technical assistant, Pablo Gómez.
The former employees of the Presidential House are accused of collaborating with Funes to steal millions of dollars and then deposit them in private bank accounts.
The Prosecutor’s Office has requested the maximum sentence of up to 30 years in prison for some defendants, depending on the degree of participation.
