The former director of the Brazilian construction company Odebrecht in Peru, Jorge Barata, has decided to terminate his collaboration with the authorities of the Andean country. This comes after a preventive prison order was issued against him, according to his defense, EFE reported.
Attorney Carlos Kauffmann mentioned that Barata, a Brazilian national, will no longer participate as a witness in further processes investigating the million-dollar bribes paid by Odebrecht to Peruvian authorities in exchange for public contracts.
"With this attitude, they close any participation of Barata that could assist them," said the Brazilian lawyer, warning of the risks this may entail for the investigations given the more than 60 statements made over the years.
Kauffmann pointed out that the preventive prison order issued against Barata represents a "violation" of the bilateral cooperation treaty between Brazil and Peru. Despite Brazil not extraditing its citizens, Peruvian authorities plan to send an international arrest request against Barata through Interpol, which could lead to his detention in other countries.
The defense of the former executive, who resides in Brazil, hopes to revoke the prison order in Peru and is preparing actions before the Inter-American Court of Human Rights and Interpol to prevent the request from Peruvian authorities from being processed.
The 36-month prison order was issued by a judge in response to a request from the Peruvian Prosecutor's Office, which claimed to have "strong suspicion" of Barata's involvement in a case of alleged collusion for the construction of a gas pipeline.
According to the Prosecutor's Office, the former executive of Odebrecht made a deal with then-President Ollanta Humala and his wife Nadine Heredia with the aim of "defrauding the State for the benefit of private interests."
During his years of collaboration, Barata stated that the construction company irregularly financed the electoral campaigns of four former Peruvian presidents, and his statements were crucial for the investigations.
Barata's defense denies any irregularity in this case and intends to ask the Supreme Court of Brazil to halt any type of judicial cooperation with Peru. The Supreme Court of Brazil invalidated part of the evidence used against Humala in a money laundering case last year, considering that it was "contaminated."
