Judge Ivo Rosa dropped the corruption and money laundering charges in the Mafia do Sangue case this Friday.
Former Octapharma administrator Paulo Lalanda y Castro is on trial to see if he will stand trial or not.
Despite the court official going on strike, Ivo Rosa read out the decision. “This is not a way to limit the right to strike, but I came here on purpose, I came from the Netherlands, and I have no way to return. We will not have reading protocols,” the investigating judge said.
Ivo Rosa is in The Hague, considering the case at the International Criminal Court, but today he arrived in Lisbon to report the decision to the defendants. This is the last act as an investigating judge. He rose to Relation, although the position is suspended due to the disciplinary processes he was subjected to.
Judge Ivo Rosa pronounces Paulo Lalanda and Castro only for receiving an undue advantage and forging documents, crimes punishable by a fine of up to 5 years.
Of the seven defendants, only three were announced. Lalanda and Castro, Luis Cunha Ribeiro, former president of INEM, and Dr. Manuela Carvalho.
The judge also believes that several crimes have already been discharged.
The defendants, including Lalanda and Castro, asked for a stay of the proceedings in exchange for a payment of half a million euros. At the time, the State Ministry acknowledged that it had accepted the request, but today, following the decision of Judge Ivo Rosa, who denied most of the crimes, he asked for more time to make a decision.
In practice, the judge will decide whether the accused avoids trial by paying.
At the end of the meeting, the prosecutor’s office requested a period of 10 days to decide on the application for a temporary stay of the process.
Author: Deborah Carvalho
Source: CM Jornal
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