NewsLatin AmericaThe judge cancels the process against Rosario Robles for the Master Scam

The judge cancels the process against Rosario Robles for the Master Scam

A judge has dismissed the process against Rosario Robles for the Master swindler, the scheme for the massive diversion of public funds from various State secretariats, during the Government of Enrique Pena Nieto (2012-2018). The judge has considered that the facts that the Attorney General of the Republic (FGR) accused Robles are of an administrative and not criminal nature. “Today it is shown that I was right and that I am innocent, I always showed my face. I experienced injustice firsthand”, said the former official at the exit of the hearing.

In a statement released this Friday, the FGR has criticized the judge’s decision. “It is acting against the law and against the records of the records, which is why not only the administrative complaint is initiated, but also the corresponding criminal procedure,” the agency has written. For the Prosecutor’s Office, the administrative responsibility of Robles does not annul the criminal one. “Regardless of whether the resolution will be appealed, the violation of legal principles and the most elementary justice cannot be allowed,” he added.

The fiasco in the Robles case hits the FGR squarely, led by Alejandro Gertz since the end of 2018. Prosecuting acts of corruption under the umbrella of La Estafa Maestra was one of the great bets of the prosecutor, who came to office hand in hand of the president, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador. Robles’ acquittal puts the Prosecutor’s Office in a bind, which is also battling in the other two paradigmatic processes of the six-year term, the Odebrecht and Ayotzinapa cases.

The situation with the investigation of the Ayotzinapa case, the attack against a group of normal school students in Guerrero in 2014, is equally complicated. After the successes of the first years, with the discovery of the bones of two normalistas in a hitherto unknown place, and the collaboration of former members of the group of attackers, a period of opacity and discretion in the FGR has followed. Gertz pressured the prosecutor in the case to force his resignation, doing and undoing as he pleased, despite the protests of the families of the missing students.

Regarding the Robles case, former Secretary of Agrarian Development and before Social Development, the defense has achieved its objective: to point out that there was no evidence that the former official had participated in the diversions. The FGR accused Robles of allowing the diversion of more than 5,000 million pesos, 250 million dollars, from the coffers of the dependencies, at the time she directed them. For the investigators, the woman had committed a crime of improper exercise of public service.

The defense has argued over the years that Robles’ conduct, far from constituting a crime, was the subject of an administrative offense, according to the Federal Budget and Fiscal Responsibility Law. After battling in court for a long time, Robles, who was in prison for three years, has gotten away with it.

The cancellation of the process due to improper exercise does not close Robles’ problems with the law. In parallel to this accusation, the FGR accuses the former official of organized crime and money laundering, crimes much more serious than the previous one. Robles’ lawyers have defended themselves over the years based on amparo, a judicial shield that slows down the processes and allows the defenses to buy time. Given today’s setback, it remains to be seen what happens with the other accusation and when the protection that protects Robles from arrest ends.

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

Latest Posts

Read More
More