-Published: Thursday, October 31, 2019-

By the A.M. Costa Rica staff

The Anticorruption Prosecutor's Office, based in Puntarenas, ordered 11 raids Wednesday and the subsequent detention of Puntarenas Mayor Randall Chavarría-Matarrita as a suspect of embezzlement.

Embezzlement or misappropriation of public money by persons in charge of its control and custody is a crime under Costa Rican law.

According to the Prosecutor's Office, the investigation against the mayor is for alleged embezzlement of funds against the central municipality of the province.

The raids were made at the municipal building and at 10 homes of the members of the Party Commission of Puntarenas.

The Party Commission of Puntarenas is the organization in charge of managing the budget to carry out the popular celebrations for the community, which are financed with the municipality.

According to the information of the case provided by the prosecutor, the investigation began when the municipality had an alleged irregularly transfer of money to the commission.

According to Walter Espinoza, director of the Judicial Investigation Organization, the case is related to knowing the destiny of the money that was deposited in the bank accounts of the municipality.

According to the judicial agents, there is an alleged misuse of about $17,188 of which there are doubts about the documents that were used to justify the spending of the money.

Chavarría, the mayor, was arrested by the judicial agents and taken before the Public Ministry, where he was interviewed by the agents. It is expected that in the next few hours, a judge will order the pre-trial measures against the mayor.

This is not the first time the mayor has been investigated.

Last December, as A.M. Costa Rica reported, Chavarría, and one municipal engineer, surnamed Gutierrez, were investigated for an alleged breach of duty.

This was confirmed by the Prosecutor's Office of Puntarenas, the group that carried out a series of raids in the municipal building.

According to the report, the the mayor could be linked to a possible irregularity in the concession for the resort of the town, know as the San Lucas Beach Club of Puntarenas.

"The confiscation of relevant evidence for the investigation was obtained, such as documentation, computers, cell phones, and mass storage devices," said the Prosecutors in its report.

The prosecutor’s agents did not give more details about the case, and it is presumed that the investigation has to do with the beach club, which was closed in January of this year by the Ministry of Health because it did not have the proper operating permits.

The judicial authorities said they continue with the investigation of this case.





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What is the penalty for a mayor in your country as a suspect of alleged fraud? We would like to know your thoughts on this story. Send your comments to: news@amcostarica.com