Interview: Court closed civil case without verifying return of funds

On February 6, 2025, Javier Castillero, former Senior Clerk of the Eleventh Civil Court, gave a second statement to the Anticorruption Prosecutor’s Office in the ongoing investigation into Juan Luis Bosch Gutiérrez. Castillero confirmed that the civil proceedings ended with Auto No. 2277-2018 on December 5, 2018, which recommended the parties offset their mutual debts. He explained that once civil judgments are finalized, the case enters its execution phase under the Judicial Code. That phase officially ended with the court’s order to archive the file, which is noted on pages 2892–2894 of the case file.

Castillero further stated that the surety bonds were released under Auto No. 1867-2019 and that the physical file was sent to judicial archives on January 5, 2021. Crucially, he clarified that the court never verified whether the funds held by Bosch were actually returned to Lisa, nor was any enforcement mechanism applied. As far as the court is concerned, the case is concluded and closed, with no outstanding obligations reflected in the judicial record. This testimony supports Lisa and BDT’s claim that funds remain unlawfully withheld and unaccounted for.