The Federal Oral Court 4 decided today to keep the amount of Lazarus Báez’s bond at 632 million pesos, so the businessman will not be able to leave Ezeiza jail until he completes that figure. The judges also denied the request of prosecutor Abel Córdoba, who had considered that beyond the discussion for the amount of the bond – which he recommended on Thursday at 386,578,500 pesos – he should be granted the home prison already granted in the case known as M&P for money laundering.
Guillermo Costabel, Jorge Gorini and Daniel Obligado understood that the defense made errors of formality and instead of appealing the amount set by the Court, he insisted with a reduction thereof, coupled with other procedural problems. The prosecutor had established that the bond should be $5.5 million, but when converting to pesos he took into account the official dollar, hence the proposed reduction in relation to the amount set by the Court, which took the blue.
The judges also clarified to Báez’s lawyers that the possibility of bond insurance is contemplated and that it does not merit consultation. The defense had suggested this alternative route by pointing out that Báez has no means of his own means to pay for the bond, as they are seized in the multiple causes in which it is investigated. Finally, the judges flatly dismissed the request of Báez’s lawyers, accompanied by the prosecutor Córdoba, to give Báez the home prison while the amount of the bond is being discussed. According to the understanding, “the pre-trial detention of the defendant Báez is still in force” and cannot be given the home without first paying the repeated bond.
