Supreme Court · Cassation 2025

Cassation Judgment issued unanimously by the Permanent Criminal Chamber of the Supreme Court of Justice of the Republic, which declared the cassation appeal filed by Ocho Sur P S.A.C. as well-founded and reversed the company's incorporation as a passive procedural party in the criminal proceedings for the offense against forests or forest formations to the detriment of the State. The Supreme Court determined that the environmental damage attributed in the case occurred prior to the incorporation of Ocho Sur P S.A.C., therefore it is not possible that in the exercise of its business activity the company favored or concealed the investigated offense. Additionally, the judgment dismissed the existence of any corporate unity between Ocho Sur P S.A.C. and the company Plantaciones de Pucallpa S.A.C., finding that they are distinct legal persons, with their own shareholders, tax IDs, and registry entries, created in connection with lawful credit operations totaling forty-eight million U.S. dollars. With respect to the Melka Group, the Supreme Court concluded that U.S. citizen Dennis Nicholas Melka acquired a minimal percentage of shares in Peruvian Palm Holdings Ltd., lacked control, did not participate in its management or governance bodies, and sold his shares in 2020. The judgment is final and orders its transcription to the Superior Court and publication on the Judicial Branch's website.