High court reopens graft case against ex president’s close collaborator

Santo Domingo.- Supreme Court justice Victor Jose Castellanos ordered the Justice Ministry to reopen the investigation into alleged corruption against senator Felix Bautista, one of former Dominican Republic president Leonel Fernandez’s closest collaborators.

Castellanos, who served as Special Instruction Judge, based the ruling on Article 30 of the Criminal Procedure Code.

The judge revoked the Justice Ministry’s resolution submitted by the Anticorruption Department, which had dropped the charges against Bautista, filed ??by the Dominican Anticorruption Alliance (Adocco). The watchdog group had filed embezzlement charges against the former head of the State Works Supervising Engineers Office.

Justice minister Francisco Dominguez said the investigation into Bautista’s alleged corruption should continue, and stressed his willingness to “fight impunity, without distinction.

"The reopening of senator Felix Bautista’s case bolsters the fight against impunity and we’ve repeatedly said the justice system cannot become corruption’s protector. We will continue the investigation and due process in every case regardless of partisan or personal interests,” Dominguez said.