The defense team for geneticist and biologist Antonietta Gutiérrez Rosati, who is implicated in a money laundering trial alongside Keiko Fujimori, the leader of the political party Fuerza Popular, announced on Monday that they will seek civil damages. They argue that the legal proceedings, which began seven years ago, have harmed her reputation and prestige, in addition to inflicting emotional distress and physical deterioration.
The lawyer for Gutiérrez Rosati stated that they would request financial compensation for the personal and familial harm caused by what they describe as an illogical investigation and wrongful trial related to the "Caso Cócteles." Gutiérrez Rosati’s defense emphasizes that the criminal case has generated completely illogical accusations, despite objective evidence showing the legal and material impossibility of committing any crime. They are hopeful that, once declared innocent, they can explore legal avenues for compensation due to this clear judicial error.
Gutiérrez Rosati faces a potential sentence of 22 years and ten months in prison. She specializes in biology and is a professor at the Agraria La Molina University. She joined Fuerza 2011 in 2009 and took up the role of treasurer, where she claims to have implemented software for managing the party’s finances and opened two bank accounts with funds that were reported to the National Office of Electoral Processes (ONPE).
However, the prosecution has charged her as a "primary accomplice" in the money laundering offense. They allege that she participated in the conversion method, signed financial reports for the year 2011, and made deposits totaling $314,508 and 57,000 soles in the name of Fuerza 2011. Additionally, she is accused of being the "material author" behind contracts for advertising services amounting to 56,608 soles.
Gutiérrez Rosati’s attorney noted that she requested a leave of absence from the party in September 2010 and officially resigned in December of that year, with the resignation documented by the ONPE. The defense argues that she was no longer a member of Fuerza 2011 during the time the alleged illicit fundraising took place.
The lawyer disputed the charges against Gutiérrez Rosati, claiming that the criminal case has been constructed around an entirely illogical set of accusations and that they do not accept the civil reparations sought, which they see as insufficient since they primarily pertain only to the 2011 campaign and especially to her role as treasurer, which officially began in February 2011.
The lawyer did not specify whether the civil suit would be directed against the state, prosecutor José Domingo Pérez, or a judge within the judiciary. According to La República, this is the first instance in which the defense has signaled the possibility of pursuing economic compensation for what they allege is abuse by the Public Ministry or errors by the judiciary in validating the investigation and the public trial.
The "Caso Cócteles" involves 41 alleged participants and is linked to money laundering attributed to the construction company Odebrecht, which reportedly made illegal contributions to Keiko Fujimori’s presidential campaigns. She faces a 30-year prison sentence, accused of leading a criminal organization within her party.
In March 2021, after two years of investigation, the Public Prosecutor’s Office laid charges involving organized crime, money laundering, obstruction of justice, and making false statements in administrative procedures. This accusation also implicates Fuerza Popular and the company MVV Bienes Raíces SAC, seeking their dissolution and liquidation in the event of a conviction.
Image and News Source: https://www.infobae.com/peru/2024/07/23/extesorera-del-partido-de-keiko-fujimori-pedira-reparacion-civil-por-dano-emocional-sufrido-en-juicio/
