Tegucigalpa, Honduras.
A judge yesterday issued an official order for criminal prosecution and pre-trial detention against Marco Bográn and Alex Moraes, involved in the irregular purchase of seven mobile hospitals, because there are risk of leakage.
The legal defense of the former officials of the Strategic Investment of Honduras (Invest-H) stated that they will file an appeal in the next few days.
Bográn, former director of Invest-H and Moraes, Former Invest-H administrator, they are accused of two offenses of fraud and two of violating the duties of officials after finding that they participated excessively in the purchase of seven mobile hospitals, which amounted to L1.174 million.
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“We will use all means of defense that have not been considered by the judge,” said the lawyer from Marco Bográn, Marco Tulio Castro.
In the court ruling issued yesterday morning, the judge stated that the defendants were ordered pre-trial detention because there is a danger of escape.
“This is completely false. If he wanted to escape, he would have done it from the first moment, what happens is that the judge considered that they both have the means to escape; but that is not their intention.” Castro said.
In order to issue the formal indictment with the measure of pre-trial detention, Judge Vera Barahona concluded that the defendants had violated the law on state contracts regarding guarantees and the purchase procedure.
The initial hearing of officials began on Saturday, April 10, and ended on Wednesday.
The Public Ministry presented 50 means of evidence, compared to six means of proof for the private defense of the defendants.
According to the deputy, in the meeting it was proved that “the purchase was made outside the provisions of the law, depending on the contrast of supply and suppliers, without quality guarantees, without guarantee of conformity, without maintenance of supply, a fixed term of installation, without complying with the advance payment guarantee and without the prior authorization of the Invest-H Board of Directors ”.
Bail
Defense attorneys acknowledged that during the initial hearing they offered a mortgage guarantee of more than eight million lempiras to obtain measures other than imprisonment.
However, the robbed Barahona did not acknowledge this and rather ordered the former officials to be sent to a prison in 1st Infantry Battalion in the capital.