Santo Domingo.– After the mandatory review hearing of the coercive measures in the SeNaSa case was postponed again this Wednesday, the defendants Rafael Luis Martínez Hazim and Gustavo Enrique Messina Cruz left the courtroom showing a relaxed attitude and smiling at the cameras.
The hearing, which was to review the legal status of the defendants, was postponed after the defense teams for some of the accused stated that they were not in a position to review the case. The new date for the review was set for August 5th.
Martínez Hazim and Messina Cruz are part of the group of defendants who remain in pretrial detention for their alleged connection to the corruption network investigated by the Public Ministry in the so-called Operation Cobra, related to an alleged fraud against the National Health Insurance (SeNaSa) which, according to the investigation, exceeds RD$15 billion.
What is Rafael Martínez Hazim accused of?
The Public Ministry points to Rafael Luis Martínez Hazim, nephew of the former director of SeNaSa, Santiago Hazim, for his alleged link to operations related to the company Grupo Siulrod S.R.L. and telemedicine services.
According to the indictment reported by Listín Diario, Martínez Hazim allegedly used his family connection with the then-director of SeNaSa to obtain a health service provision code in an allegedly preferential manner.
More Read
The file also maintains that, together with the also accused Ramón Alan Speakler Mateo, he allegedly participated in an alleged fraudulent billing scheme through which both would have appropriated approximately RD$15 million.
Martínez Hazim is also pointed out by the Public Prosecutor’s Office in relation to an alleged telemedicine business in which he reportedly offered a business partnership to a foreign investor, an operation in which, according to the accusation, he allegedly used his relationship with Santiago Hazim to facilitate access to services within SeNaSa.
The role attributed to Gustavo Messina Cruz
In the case of Gustavo Enrique Messina Cruz, the Public Ministry identifies him as the person who served as financial manager of SeNaSa since August 2020.
More Read
According to the investigation, Messina Cruz allegedly had a relevant role in the institution’s financial management and, under instructions from Santiago Hazim, allegedly exercised control over the Bordereau, a document containing the list of authorizations issued and pending payment.
The Public Prosecutor’s Office includes him within the structure that allegedly allowed for the diversion of resources from the state ARS through various financial and administrative mechanisms.
To Messina Cruz and the rest of the group, the prosecuting body attributes, according to the case file, crimes such as coalition of officials, prevarication, criminal association, bribery, fraud against the State, embezzlement, forgery, use of forged documents, and money laundering.
A process that is postponed once again
The new suspension comes as pressure mounts on the Public Prosecutor’s Office to define the procedural direction of the case file. In April, the Seventh Instruction Court of the National District had ratified the preventive detention against Martínez Hazim, Messina Cruz, and the other defendants, considering that the circumstances that justified the measure had not changed.
The SeNaSa case, known as Operation Cobra, investigates an alleged corruption scheme that reportedly operated during the administration of Santiago Hazim and which, according to the Public Prosecutor’s Office, caused a multi-million dollar loss to public assets and the resources allocated to state insurance affiliates.
While the process remains pending further judicial decisions, this Wednesday attention was also focused on the defendants leaving the courtroom, including Martínez Hazim and Messina Cruz, who were captured smiling after the hearing was adjourned.
