Son of Luis Arce granted house arrest in money laundering case in Santa Cruz
A judge granted house arrest to Luis Marcelo Arce Mosqueira, charged with money laundering. The Public Ministry immediately appealed the ruling.
Arce Mosqueira leaves Palmasola under house arrest; Public Ministry appeals
A judge ordered house arrest for Luis Marcelo Arce Mosqueira, son of former president Luis Arce, who since March had been held in preventive detention at Palmasola prison in Santa Cruz on suspicion of money laundering. According to El Deber, the hearing to consider lifting his detention took place on Wednesday.
The departmental prosecutor of Santa Cruz, Alberto Zeballos, clarified on Thursday that the judicial authority did not grant the extension of preventive detention requested by the Public Ministry. Instead, it imposed personal precautionary measures—formerly known as substitute measures—including 24-hour house arrest and an economic bond of 200,000 bolivianos.
"The prosecutor assigned to the case and the Vice-Ministry of Transparency have immediately and orally filed incidental appeals during the hearing," Zeballos stated.
The prosecutor argued that Arce Mosqueira should remain imprisoned to guarantee his presence in the investigative process, particularly because the Public Ministry recently expanded the charges against two other Bolivian males, whom it identifies as alleged straw men for the defendant.
Arce Mosqueira reportedly accumulated at least 18 real estate properties and 20 vehicles registered in his name, in addition to registering two transactions deemed unusual between 2022 and 2024, for amounts exceeding 300,000 and 500,000 bolivianos respectively. These elements were part of the grounds the Public Ministry used at the time to request his commitment to preventive prison.
Source: El Deber