Abinader on MP-Maxy Montilla agreement: “It’s not our place to comment on their decision”

Santo Domingo. President Luis Abinader stated this Monday that it is not his duty to “comment” on the actions of the Public Ministry in cases of administrative corruption, and highlighted that from the Executive Branch only complaints about particular situations are sent, mainly through the Government Ethics Directorate. When questioned during LA Semanal about the agreement reached between the Public Ministry and Maxy Montilla, brother-in-law of former President Danilo Medina, accused of allegedly diverting funds and defrauding the national electricity system, Abinader emphasized that the decision corresponds exclusively to the Public Ministry.

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“It’s their decision and it’s not up to us to comment on their resolution, but only to respect it. The important thing is to know that the Public Ministry is not a dependency of the Executive Branch or the President of the Republic, as in the past it was politically manipulated and cases were hidden,” the president affirmed. Abinader recalled that, after the constitutional reform that establishes that the attorney general be chosen by the National Council of the Magistracy, the Public Ministry functions in a “completely independent” manner and investigations are not hidden. “What I assure you is that we do not hide any case; we send them with total transparency, and they decide whether or not they have merit,” he emphasized. The agreement between the Public Ministry and Maxy Montilla stipulates that the latter, through his companies, will return to the State more than RD$ 3,000 million, thus closing a chapter of alleged irregularities related to the electricity system.