US embassy cable - 03SANTODOMINGO7566

UNCLAS SANTO DOMINGO 007566 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: EFIN, KCRM, KJUS, PGOV, PINR 
SUBJECT: BANKING SERIES #3: FORMER BANINTER EXECUTIVES 
RELEASED ON BAIL 
 
 
1.  The following is the third in a series of reports on the 
Dominican Banking sector. 
 
2.  On December 20, an Appeals Court panel of three judges 
ruled to allow the release of former Baninter President Ramon 
Baez Figueroa and Vice-President Marcos Baez Cocco on RD $100 
million bail each.  After some delay because of coordination 
issues between the defendant's lawyers and the Attorney 
General's Office the two were finally released on Tuesday, 
December 23.  The ruling has had widespread coverage in all 
local daily newspapers and has sparked debate among Dominican 
authorities on the legitimacy of the decision. 
 
3.  The panel, headed by Judge Miriam German Brito, ruled 
that the incarceration of the two men since their arrest last 
May was unconstitutional.  Baez Figueroa and Baez Cocco had 
been detained for their suspected involvement in the massive 
USD $2.2 billion Baninter  banking fraud.  Some Dominicans 
have spoken out in favor of the decision, saying it was the 
right thing to do even if it seems wrong to the public. 
Among those has been Jose Alfredo Rizek, Executive Director 
of the Fundacion Institucionalidad y Justicia (FINJUS) -- a 
prominent USAID-supported NGO that promotes judicial reform 
-- and Jorge Subero Isa, President of the Dominican Supreme 
Court.  Rizek commented that Dominican authorities have 
traditionally abused constitutional rights of detainees, 
imprisoning them for long periods before filing formal 
charges.  Several commentators including him believe the 
ruling advances reform of the Dominican judicial system. 
Others, like Maximo Aristy Caraballo, Attorney General for 
the National District, voiced concern that the decision could 
open the door to release of other accused defrauders and 
money launderers. 
 
4. It is expected that the two men will be celebrating 
Christmas at home with their families, but how long they will 
stay in the country is on the mind of many Dominicans.  If 
the men do decide to flee, it will not be to the United 
States since neither is a US citizen or permanent resident 
and Embassy's NIV section revoked both men's visas in May, 
2003. 
 
5. Embassy will continue to report further developments in 
the investigation and prosecution of this case. 
HERTELL