The court awarded him social assistance instead of jail, after reaching an agreement with the prosecution to plead guilty to cover-up.
The seventh investigative court found Regina Cañas, known as Aunt Bubu, guilty on Tuesday afternoon of the crime of hiding money laundering for which former President Mauricio Funes is being prosecuted.
Cañas was sentenced to three years in prison to be replaced by the community service instead of imprisonment, as confirmed by the prosecutor in this case.
In addition, the prosecutor stated that in the judge’s decision it was established that the public utility activities that Cañas Rivera will carry out will be related to his professional and work field.
AND: “Aunt Bubu” admitted that she covered the money laundering
The former television presenter reached an agreement with the General Prosecutor’s Office to minimize the punishment for the crime she was accused of: instead, she had to accept the crime and accept the civil liability that will be established by the court. In this regard, the Prosecutor’s Office managed to compensate $ 95,000 that Funes gave to her son, so that he could invest in the business of purchasing vehicles, money from the public treasury.
In brief statements after the court ruling, Cañas Rivera said he was happy to resume his life. “I will return to work on what people have seen me do, for more than 30 years it has been work, work and work …”, said Cañas.
This is when Queen Cañas arrives in court:
The seventh investigative court found Regina Cañas guilty on March 23 of the crime of concealing money laundering, a fact committed by the former fugitive president Mauricio Funes. Video EDH / Damaris Girón.
The prosecution party stated that during the trial it was possible to establish the responsibility of Queen Cañas Rivera and Mauricio Funes Cartagena in creating false documents to be presented to the Probity Section of the Supreme Court of Justice (SCJ).
These documents were intended to protect Diego Funes Cañas, their son, who was chosen by Probidad at the time to buy vehicles worth $ 118,600, which he could not justify.
According to the same defendant, she and her ex-husband Mauricio Funes created a fake $ 95,000 contract to justify the purchase of the vehicles, due to the fact that it was an amount she could support due to a bank loan she had made.
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In addition, the prosecutor stated that in the judge’s decision it was established that the public utility activities that Cañas Rivera will carry out will be related to his professional and work field. Photo: EDH / Francisco Rubio
“Adding a total of $ 95,000.89 for civil liability insurance,” the prosecutor’s office said.
In his turn, the defense lawyer, Arnau Baulenas, reiterated that Cañas Rivera has regained his unrestricted freedom and that he will respect only the public utility activities that will be assigned to him, which will be known to the parties until the document with the specific sentence.
He also assured that during the trial no documents or expertise were shown to prove that Cañas Rivera had taken or received public funds, for which he assured that the Prosecutor’s Office dealt with an “unprofessional and irresponsible” speech in this case.
Cañas Rivera has been sued for public robbery, alleging that fugitive Mauricio Funes ran a structure that extracted $ 351 million from the state during his tenure.