Money found in Fundamax raid: $19,800 and banknotes in shoebox
The Public Prosecutor's Office found $19,800 in a Suzuki and an additional sum in a packed shoebox. The defence of Jhonny Fernández claims that the money comes from the sale of a property.
Prosecutor confirms discovery of $19,800 and unaccounted money at Fundamax premises
On Wednesday at midday, police officers raided the Fundamax facilities in Santa Cruz de la Sierra and located former mayor Jhonny Fernández, who had a warrant for arrest after being declared in default. During the operation, according to El Deber, sums of money were found in two different locations: the back seat of a vehicle and a packed shoebox.
Prosecutor Gary Flores, present at the raid, specified the amounts found: "An exact amount of 19,800 dollars that were lying on the back seat of a small vehicle, a Suzuki, and another considerable sum of money inside a properly packed shoebox". Flores indicated that that second amount would be quantified in the course of the coming hours to determine the actual figure.
The defence: legitimate money from the sale of a property
Fernández's lawyer, Samuel Durán, assured El Deber that the cash found corresponds to the sale of a property and was intended for the acquisition of another property of lower value. According to Durán, the money was being transferred in order to account for it and complete the payment when the Police arrived.
"This is an isolated case from the embezzlement case. First, having money is not a crime. What is criminal is if that origin is illicit and the destination is illicit. But that is not the case," the lawyer declared.
Durán ruled out any link between the discovery and the trial for alleged embezzlement of funds that his client is facing. "The origin is the sale of a property which is legitimate and the destination is the purchase of another property which is also legitimate," he argued. At the time of the interview, the lawyer noted that he was unaware of the total amount of money found because the count was still ongoing.
Questions about the judicial procedure
Durán also denounced alleged irregularities in the judicial decisions linked to the case. According to the lawyer, after payment of the fines corresponding to the declaration of default, the judge should have rendered all measures against Fernández without effect. Instead, he claimed, both the arrest warrant and the order confining him to the jurisdiction remained in force, and furthermore the raid was authorised.
"If we purged the default and paid the fines, all measures should have been rendered without effect. On the contrary, the raid is ordered," Durán declared.
The defence lawyer also denounced an alleged unequal treatment during the precautionary hearing and indicated that he had filed motions for reconsideration, appeals and an action for freedom. He asserted that he considers his client's constitutional rights and guarantees to have been violated, and maintained that the judicial decisions would be directed, although he presented no documentation that would allow independent verification of that accusation.
Fernández in Palmasola, accused of embezzling Bs 191 million
Jhonny Fernández was arrested on Wednesday 28 October at the Fundamax facilities. He is subject to a trial for alleged embezzlement of Bs 191 million intended for 17 municipal works during his term as mayor of Santa Cruz de la Sierra.
According to his lawyer, Fernández spent the night in the orientation area of Palmasola prison and would subsequently be transferred to the sector known as PC-4.
Durán also rejected the claim that his client's conduct constitutes the crime of embezzlement. He argued that the halting of the works was due to economic factors related to the dollar exchange rate and not to a deliberate decision on the part of Fernández.
Source: El Deber