The senator of the National Party, Juan Sartori, asked the Transparency and Public Ethics Board (Jutep) to archive the proceedings for the investigation initiated for not presenting the sworn statement of his colleague, Ekaterina Rybolovleva, he assured that they could not allow him and said that there was “vice” against him because there were many dismissals that were not reported.
In his defense, presented to the agency this Thursday after the announcement that the deadline will expire on Monday, the 23rd, he said that the situation he found himself in was not a lack and that he married the person and not the property.
The history of the agency’s investigation of the white lawmaker is long and began in February 2020. But this Monday, date 23, marked the 15 business days that the senator, after informing the Board, to present the sworn statement of his wife. And, from what he has stated in recent days, he will not present the necessary documentation and the organization understands that his defenses have changed slightly regarding the content of the matter.
Once the deadline has passed, and if the senator has nothing else to present, the Affidavits office will send the file to the board that will meet next Thursday. “If the dismissal resolution is approved, it is published on the Jutep website, and the Parliament is notified to withhold 50% of the salary.”, he explained to The Observer the president of Jutep, Gabriela Di Longo.
So far, all of the resolutions the organization has taken regarding Sartori have been overwhelming, including calls that gave him 15 business days to respond. Although Di Longo did not want to advance a personal position on the matter, IÂ admit that I have read the senator’s defenses “from above” and I understand that on the underlying issue “obviously” nothing has changed.
The Frente Amplio member of the board of directors expressed a similar line: “In the end, he didn’t do what he was told. Any other consideration will depend on a more detailed analysis of your proposal and what is resolved on Thursday.
Diego Battiste
Sartori and Iturralde
Meanwhile, in the National Party, they follow with anticipation the resolutions of the anti-corruption body and discuss what it dictates in the session of the Board of Directors on November 6. This week, Sartori met with the president, Pablo Iturralde, who said that He was in trouble because he could not compel his partner to present the affidavit, an argument he had also made public.
“There are issues that he understands are impossible to accomplish. What we ask of you is that you be consistent with our motto: defenders of the laws,” said Iturralde in the press conference this Thursday and added that the National Party “will accept” what Jutep said.
The process
In February 2020, the new white senator presented his sworn statement based on the so-called crystal law. In that statement, he admitted an asset of almost US $ 100 million (at current values). Most of his assets, according to the first statement, correspond to his participation in three companies: Union Group IHL, Renio SA, and Arvesa Corp.
In that document, he did not provide details about his income and he also did not provide information about his wife’s sworn statement. even though it was established by law 17,060.
In August 2021according to the weekly Busqueda, Jutep asked the senator to present a new statement with data on his income as a senator, and any disposable income, and they required him to present a sworn declaration of his spouse’s assets and income.
After requesting several extensions, in November 2021, The senator informed the organization that he could not present the declaration “for personal reasons”. The argument is that there is no legal association of goods but for Jutep that is not a sufficient argument.
In December of the same year, three senators of the Broad Front presented a request for reports to learn more details of the process, and the answer, which arrived in May 2022, established that the declaration was not yet complete.
In June 2022, after more than two years of back and forth, Jutep started the investigation against the senator. which led Sartori to present, in October of the same year, an unconstitutionality appeal to avoid the presentation of his partner’s data. In September 2023, the Court ruled in favor of Jutep, who then issued a notice to the senator.
Instagram Ekaterina Rybolovlev
Archives. Sartori and his partner Ekaterina Rybolovleva
In the two sworn statements presented by the senator, he said that he had a separation of assets from his wife since 2015, according to Swiss legislation, but for the Supreme Court of Justice, it was never proven. However, Ferraris told The Observer that, based on the fact that lying in a sworn statement is a crime, the information provided by the senator was accurate, although that did not prevent him from presenting it.
Adding properties
Along this whole process, Jutep also highlighted the increase in assets of US$39 million that the senator has between 2020 and 2022 when he must present the new declaration. From US$ 100 million to US$ 139 million.
Due to this issue, the senator was also summoned and the deadline to present the requested information is October 30. However, in this case, the senator has already told Iturralde that he will present the documents that will explain the value of the shares that he owns and that means this difference in assets.
