Former Attorney General of the Dominican Republic and four other people accused of corruption, money laundering and other crimes are arrested

(CNN Spanish) – Former Dominican Republic Attorney Jean Alain Rodríguez (2016-2020) was detained this Tuesday afternoon during a visit to the Attorney General’s Office, his lawyers confirmed.

Rodríguez joins four other people who were arrested early Tuesday in the framework of the investigation called “Operation Medusa,” according to a statement from the Attorney General’s Office on Tuesday.

The Public Ministry reported in a statement that the former attorney general Jean Alain Rodríguez and at least six other people are being investigated for the alleged commission of crimes of “association of criminals, fraud against the State, bribery, coalition of officials, falsification of public documents, identity theft, electronic crimes and money laundering ”.

The former prosecutor assured that he had presented himself this Tuesday at the headquarters of the Public Ministry without having been summoned. “I am here voluntarily to see what this entire investigation process is about, nobody has called me or summoned me,” he said upon arrival at the Attorney General at noon.

Earlier, Rodríguez defended himself in a tweet against the accusations. The former prosecutor tweeted the following Tuesday: “They seek to silence me, through raids, to continue to hide the lack of respect for due process.” He also called the investigation a “persecution.”

Among those detained is citizen Miguel José Moya, a former advisor to the Attorney General’s Office during the administration of Jean Alain Rodríguez, according to the Public Ministry in a press release.

Moya’s lawyer, Cándido Simón, said in an interview with Noticias SIN that he had spoken with his client moments before he was arrested, but until Tuesday morning he had had no contact. He said he would provide details later, when he has more information.

The investigation included the arrest of Altagracia Guillén Calzado, who served as administrative deputy director of the Attorney General’s Office.

Javier Alejandro Forteza Ibarra, who held the position of Director of Information Technology of the institution, was also detained.

So far CNN has not been able to get the legal representatives of the other investigated who are under arrest.

The Special Prosecutor’s Office for Persecution indicated that the investigation included at least 38 raids on Monday in the National District, La Vega and La Romana.

Dominican laws indicate that the detainees must be presented before a judge within the next 48 hours after their arrest for the knowledge of coercion measures.