Sandra Leticia Robledo Magaña, First District Judge for Amparo in Criminal Matters in Mexico City, admitted for processing the amparo appeal filed by the defense of the former director of Petróleos Mexicanos (Pemex), Emilio Lozoya, against the initiation of the criminal trial against him for the Odebrecht case.
The judge did not determine whether to grant the provisional suspension that would stop the start of the oral trial. The appeal filed by Lozoya’s defense argued that it takes time to process an opportunity criterion with the Attorney General’s Office (FGR) and a reparation agreement with Pemex and the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) of the Ministry of Finance.
On March 13, Gerardo Genaro Alarcón, federal judge of the North Prison, ordered the opening and beginning of the criminal trial against the former director of Pemex, Emilio Lozoya Austin, for the Odebrecht case.
By ratifying its accusation against Lozoya for the crimes operations with resources of illicit origin, bribery and criminal association, the Attorney General of the Republic (FGR) requested a sentence of 46 years in prison against the former director of Pemex, and 21 years for Gilda Austin, mother of Emilio Lozoya, who is also accused of money laundering for receiving irregular transfers in foreign accounts.
Although he ordered the start of the trial, Judge Gerardo Genaro Alarcón rejected a series of evidence offered by the agents of the Federal Public Ministry, for which FGR agents informed that they will challenge this decision of the judge.
The judge annulled various evidence on the grounds that the Federal Public Ministry violated bank secrecy and the confidentiality of private communications between bank officials and clients. He discarded documents of financial transfers made by companies linked to Odebrecht to two Lozoya companies in Switzerland, where he allegedly received bribes for 10.5 million dollars. The judge accepted the argument of the defense, in the sense that the Federal Public Ministry obtained the evidence illegally.
For their part, the FGR and the UIF have filed various challenges for the exclusion of several key pieces of evidence in the Lozoya trial in the Odebrecht case.
The Attorney General’s Office accuses Lozoya of receiving 10.5 million dollars in bribes from the Brazilian company in exchange for construction contracts during the past six-year term. Lozoya Austin’s defense offered Pemex a reparation agreement last year, consisting of 10.2 million dollars for the Odebrecht and Agronitrogenados case.
