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Four
former deputies will go to trial for alleged
corruption
By the A.M. Costa Rica staff The Prosecutor's office for Honor, Transparency, and Anti-Corruption announced that the Criminal Court of the Treasury ordered the opening of a trial against 12 people, including four ex-deputies of the Accessibility Without Exclusion Party, known as PASE, for alleged embezzlement and corruption crimes. Embezzlement is the legal term of the act of withholding assets for the theft of such assets, by one or more persons to whom the assets were entrusted, either to be held or to be used for specific purposes. Embezzlement is known as financial fraud. The former deputies of the PASE party, accused are: - Óscar López-Arias, a deputy from 2006 to 2010. - Rita Chaves-Casanova, a deputy from 2010 to 2014. - Martín Monestel-Contreras, a deputy from 2010 to 2014. - Víctor Emilio Granados-Calvo, a deputy from 2010 to 2014. According to the Prosecutor's accusation, during the years of their duties as deputies, the suspects would have made "ghost hirings," which means they hire fictitious employees. These false employees were created using names of relatives or friends of former deputies, or assistants, secretaries or advisers for the political party. However, "these people did not show up for work and presumably, they collected the salaries," said the Prosecutor in its statement. These people, who were apparently part of the false hiring, received salaries and for that reason, they are also charged as suspects of embezzlement and corruption in this case. Those suspects were identified with the surnames: Rodríguez-Rodríguez, Arias-Jiménez, Zamora-Álvarez, Brenes-Villalta, Casanova-Aragón, another Brenes-Villalta, Madrigal-Morera, and Esquivel-Mondragón. According to the Prosecutor, the total amount embezzled from the government is approximately $292,721 After the acceptance of the Criminal Court of the case presented by the Prosecutor, it is expected for the court to announce the trial date. This is the second case, in less than one week, on former deputies accused by Prosecutor's Office. As A.M. Costa Rica published on Wednesday, the Specialized Unit of the Attorney General's office announced the beginning of the trial against former Deputy Abelino Esquivel Quesada, his sister of the same surname, and his wife surnamed Cortés-Oporto. All of them are accused by the Public Ministry as allegedly responsible for committing crimes of extortion and illicit enrichment. The legal term, "crime of extortion," is used when a public employee uses his position to request a 'payment or contribution' which is essentially a bribe. The legal term "illicit enrichment" or corruption, is the increase of assets of a public official during the exercise of their functions with significant excess over their legitimate income that cannot be reasonably justified. Abelino Esquivel Quesada was Deputy for the Costa Rican Renovation party from 2014 to 2018. According to the accusation presented by the Prosecutor's office, the former deputy and his sister collected part of their salary from four employees of the Legislative Assembly. According to the evidence obtained by the Public Ministry, the suspects possibly received 123 payments from the victims. Apparently, the employees made payments with bank deposits or cash. "It is estimated the family members received an amount of ₵22,446,310 colones," about $39,635, said the Prosecutor in its statement. The Prosecutor also accused the former deputy's wife, surnamed Cortes-Oporto. It is suggested that she received salaries illegally, "since she did not provide the services for which she was hired," said the Prosecutor in its statement. "With the alleged action of the woman, in association with the Esquivel Quesada brothers, the suspect would have received an amount of ₵7,846,310," about $13,855. During the preliminary hearing, the Prosecutor presented the evidence that was collected during the investigation, to demonstrate the probable participation of the suspects in these crimes. The Criminal Court of the Treasury and the Civil Service will announce the date of the trial. ------------------------ Is it common for deputies to be accused of corruption in your country? We would like to know your thoughts on this story. Send your comments to news@amcostarica.com |
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