By the A.M. Costa Rica staff
 
The Prosecutor's office of Indigenous Affairs, in coordination with the Deputy Prosecutor of Anti-corruption, made seven raids on Tuesday in the La Casona* indigenous territory in Coto Brus. Three members of the Association of Development of the Guaymí Indigenous Territory were arrested. They were identified with the surnames: Araúz-Montezuma (president), Santos-Rodríguez (vice president) and Mendoza-Palacios (treasurer).

Four additional people, also members of the association, were also called to give statements. Their surnames are: González-Arauz, Gallardo-Carpintero, Bejarano-Rodríguez and other person of same surnames Bejarano-Rodríguez.

The Public Prosecutor's office states that these seven members of the association are being investigated on suspicion of embezzlement and fraud.

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 investigation, the suspects allegedly took advantage of their positions to take public funds allocated by the Forest Financing Fund (FONAFIFO) for nine contracts for environmental services. This association received the amount of ¢1,061,600,131 colones ($1,748,986) between the years of 2005 to 2018.

"The money should have been given to the beneficiaries of the program signed with FONAFIFO who are the owners of a total area of 7,362.1348 hectares. However, according to the evidence held by the Attorney General's Office, that never happened," said the prosecutor's statement.

The investigation has shown that the Association did not make any declaration of any kind to correctly account what happened to that money. The National Directorate of Community Development should have received that report.