Supreme Court Judge Suspended for Mismanagement of Funds

Caracas, Venezuela, May 25, 2006—A Venezuelan Supreme Court Judge, Luis Velásquez Alvaray, was suspended yesterday for allegedly mismanaging funds while heading the Executive Directorate of the country’s judicial system (DEM).

The announcement was made by representatives of Venezuela’s fourth branch of government, known as the Moral Republican Council, which consists of Comptroller General Clodovaldo Russián, Attorney General Isaías Rodríguez, and Human rights Ombudsman Germán Mundaraín.

Velásquez’s alleged mismanagement of funds stems from negotiations between the DEM, represented by Velásquez, and a private company, AZ2000, regarding the “Lebrún Judicial City” a 45,000 square foot, 4-story project where a variety of civil courts were to function for the state of Miranda. Last year, the price of the project was dropped from $25 million to $7 million. The difference, the DEM decided, would go toward the renovation of the property and the purchase of goods and services. However, this decision was made without an open bidding process, as required by law, and the contract was given directly to AZ2000.

The Venezuelan daily, El Universal, reported yesterday that the Attorney General explained that in making their decision, they took in to account “the overprice [of the property] and the violation of the law of bidding,’ legislation which had not been respected when the price of the land was reduced to $7 million, from the initial established price of $25 million, utilizing the difference for the purchase of goods, services and renovations that were susceptible to legal provisions, although the property had been excepted from them.”

Comptroller General Russián assured that they will do what is necessary to insure that the state doesn’t lose “one half cent,” and added that, “We are working so that a good part of the funds can be recuperated.”

Russián declared that the case will now be passed on to the Attorney General’s Office and the National Assembly to determine if the judge is responsible for further civil, administrative, and criminal infractions, and if there were any others at fault.

Under the Supreme Court law, the National Assembly must decide whether the judge’s suspension is turned into a dismissal.

"Once the offense has been identified, and the proceedings of the Moral Republican Council have been received, the President of the National Assembly shall convoke a plenary session within 10 working days to hear the party concerned and resolve on removal," declared National Assembly President Nicolás Maduro, citing Article 12 of the Supreme Court Law.

Maduro further declared that the Moral Republican Council carried out the law in a “strict and impeccable” way, and that they will have a final report on their decision ready in three days. 

“We are going to continue to strictly follow the law in order to give judge Velásquez Alvaray his right to defense and to listen to his arguments,” Maduro continued.

El Universal reported that due to his status as a judge, Velásquez does have the benefit of a pre-trial before any criminal indictment. However, if and when he is officially dismissed by the National Assembly he would be tried as a regular citizen.

Velásquez first came under suspicion in March the Minister of Interior and Justice, Jesse Chacón, declared at the time, “As a consequence of all of these facts we have sent the complete information on to the Anti-corruption Commission of the Moral Republican Council, so that they carry out an exhaustive investigation and declare if there exists a violation of the Venezuelan laws or not.”

Velásquez has vocally denied the charges and says that they are politically motivated and are being orchestrated by Vice-President José Vicente Rangel, Interior and Justice Minister Jesse Chacon, and National Assembly President Nicolas Maduro because he refuses to their bidding. He went on to accuse Rangel of urging him to release a drug trafficker, which he refused to do, and said that this group was part of a current that believes in “Chavismo without Chavez.”

Ironically, during his tenure on the court and as head of the court system’s Executive Directorate, Velásquez fired dozens of Venezuelan judges for corruption. He resigned from his post on the Executive Directorate on March 6 of this year.