Ex-Prosecutor Ana Girala Used Public Office as Commodity for Economic Gain, Court Rules

Former prosecutor Ana Elizabeth Girala López has been sentenced to over seven years in prison for transforming her public duties into a commodity for personal economic benefit. A specialized criminal court unanimously found Girala guilty of prevarication, passive bribery, aggravated passive bribery, extortion, and attempted extortion. The court determined that between September 2022 and February 2023, Girala and her subordinates, Griselda Beatriz Acha and Christi Magalí Ortega, engaged in a criminal scheme to obtain money and other assets in exchange for performing official acts.

The prosecution, led by economic crimes and anti-corruption prosecutors Francisco Cabrera and Verónica Valdez, successfully proved that Girala exploited her authority as the fiscal of San Lorenzo. She allegedly solicited funds and other benefits by offering to file charges, issue arrest warrants, present favorable fiscal requests for defendants, or alter existing fiscal conclusions. The court highlighted that Girala even leveraged her position to authorize the release of impounded vehicles and proposed actions that infringed upon citizens' fundamental rights, such as property searches, all in exchange for monetary payments.

In addition to Girala's sentence of 7 years and three months, her former secretary, Griselda Beatriz Acha, received a 6-year and six-month prison term, while former assistant Christi Magalí Ortega was sentenced to 3 years and six months. Both were found to have actively participated in the criminal enterprise. Lawyers Liz Elena Martínez Robles and Marcos Aurelio Velazco Mendoza were also convicted for their involvement, receiving sentences of 3 years and six months for influence peddling and complicity in bribery and attempted extortion, and 2 years and six months for aggravated bribery and complicity, respectively.

Only one individual, lawyer Nélida Vicenta Alcaraz Bogarín, was acquitted due to reasonable doubt regarding her participation in the scheme. The court's ruling, which lasted nearly three hours, emphasized that Girala's actions constituted a clear violation of her duties, as her official conduct was contingent upon receiving personal gains. The sentencing underscores a significant corruption case involving a high-ranking public official in Paraguay.