President peter castle ordered to terminate the appointment of Maria Caruajulca as head of the State Attorney General’s Office (PGE). Instead, he named Javier Wilfredo León Mancisidor, a lawyer who was investigated by the prosecution as part of an alleged fraud to favor drug trafficker Fernando Zevallos, “Lunarejo.”
The resolution that dismisses Caruajulca and the one that appoints León were published last Thursday in the official newspaper “El Peruano”, with the signatures of the president and the Minister of Justice and Human Rights, Felix Chero. In the case of the first, the “loss of confidence” is argued, while on the second it is indicated that his appointment was given at the proposal of the head of the Minjus.
In its edition of January 25, 2013, El Comercio reported that the prosecution was investigating León Mancisidor for an alleged fraud in favor of Zevallos, who at that time was serving a 20-year sentence for drug trafficking and today has another 27 years for money laundering. of assets. At the date of that publication, León was working as an adviser to Fujimori congressman Carlos Tubino.
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The investigation was opened in April 2012 for illegal appropriation to commit a crime, forgery of documents and procedural fraud. According to the aforementioned report, he was accused of being the alleged perpetrator of a fraud that made it easier for Zevallos to frustrate the eviction of his family from a residence in Las Casuarinas, Surco, valued at US$1 million. In his defense, León said that his actions were legal and that he only knew Zevallos because he had to make “an extrajudicial transaction with him.”
After the publication of that report, Tubino reported that he had decided to dismiss León as his adviser.
On August 10, 2013, another publication in this newspaper reported that the Thirteenth Criminal Court of Lima was already prosecuting León and other people. The case continued at least until April 2019, according to a judicial edict published in “El Peruano” on the 2nd of that month. There, León and three other defendants were notified of the scheduling of an oral report hearing on the case.
El Comercio consulted the Superior Court of Justice of Lima regarding the status of the case, but until the closing of this note there was no response.
Defend designation
León Mancisidor is a 45-year-old lawyer born in Lima. According to Sunedu records, he has a bachelor’s degree in Law from the San Martín de Porres University.
In addition to his role as an advisor in Congress, he held positions as deputy manager of supply and technical support of the Municipality of Punta Negra, advisor in the Municipality of Ventanilla and head of the Office of Legal Counsel of the Municipal Hospital of Los Olivos.
His affidavit of interests, available on the PGE portal, does not account for other jobs prior to his current position.
The Attorney General of the State, as head of the entity, is a member of the Board of Directors of the PGE.
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The legislative decree that created the PGE establishes that in order to be a member of the board of directors, it is required, among other things, not to have been convicted of an intentional crime or to be disqualified from exercising public office; have no pending proceedings with the State, except for proceedings in their own right; have professional qualifications and experience in public management or public policy; and in the case of the attorney general, to have “a track record in the legal defense of the State.”
El Comercio consulted Minister Félix Chero regarding whether he was aware of the investigation of León for alleged fraud in favor of Zevallos and what criteria he considered to propose him –according to what the resolution in “El Peruano” indicates– as attorney general. His response was that “every appointment is made in compliance with legal requirements.” When asked if León informed them or if the Executive found out regarding this process linked to Zevallos, which had been public news since 2013, Chero replied: “What is verified is that he does not have a criminal record and from the official registry, not the have”.
Faced with similar questions, from the PGE they commented that León had not yet been handed over the position.
According to the Minjus, León has a law degree and master’s studies and has experience in the legal defense of the State, since he worked in a prosecutor’s office of the Ministry of the Interior.
questions
In dialogue with El Comercio, former attorney José Ugaz considered that León’s appointment is “regrettable and extremely worrying.”
“What the president is looking for, because he is the one who signs the provision, is to protect himself and prevent complicated situations from being generated, from the State Legal Defense System, such as those he is suffering from on the side of the Public Ministry.”
Ugaz pointed out that the attorney general must have “autonomy and ethical legitimacy” to conduct complaints and participate in cases involving high-ranking officials. “With what legitimacy is someone who is linked to investigations of the ‘Lunarejo’ and crimes once morest property going to be able to promote investigations in defense of the interests of the State?” he questioned.
Ugaz also stressed that, as happened before with Daniel Soria, the “loss of trust” is not established in the law as a cause for dismissing an attorney general. The same criticism was made by Samuel Rotta, executive director of Proética.
On the answer that Chero gave, Rotta described it as “legalism”. “The government has given no sign of trying to correct the decisions that, seen as a whole, show a strategy of abusing power to protect itself from investigations,” she said.