U.S.-funded Dominican group rejects release of most notorious jailed banker

Santo Domingo.- Just as former banker Ramon Baez Figueroa appeared to breeze through the procedure for his release on parole, the powerful civic movement Citizen Participation (PC) on Tuesday rejected his freedom and demanded that he serve out his full sentence of 10 years in prison.

It said the fact that Baez is the main culprit in the Baninter embezzlement which cost Dominican taxpayers US$2.5 billion, the convict’s request for parole should be denied.

The former head of the bankrupt Banco Intercontinental (Baninter) awaits the San Cristobal Sentencing Court to hand down a ruling on August 15, on this request for probation, which wasn’t opposed by neither the prosecution nor the plaintiff; the Central Bank.

Baninter’s collapse together with those of Bancredito and Mercantil in 2003 led to long prison terms for their executives and sent the country’s economy into a tailspin.

Citizen Participation, which has admitted to getting partial funding from Washington, is one of the country’s most powerful civic movements.