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    - Photo via Banco Nacional -
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Published on Thursday, November 9,
2023
By
the A.M. Costa Rica staff
On Wednesday, nine workers at the State-owned Banco Nacional were arrested on suspicion of allegedly stealing more than $6 million in cash.
According to the Prosecutor's Office, the suspects were identified as Olivas-Valle (the main suspect) who works as a treasurer, Madrigal-Faerron who is the head of the treasury department, Blanco-Oviedo who is a supervisor, Ugalde-Morales also a supervisor, Hernández-Saborío the accountant, Cerdas-Méndez an evaluator, Ramírez-Sandí a supervisor, and Bolaños-Zúñiga the security officer.
The suspects were apprehended following 11 searches conducted jointly by Judicial Investigation Organization agents on the defendants' homes and offices in the cantons of Moravia, Guadalupe, and Desamparados in San José Province. Furthermore, authorities raided the offices of where the accused had worked at the bank's headquarters.
Agents collected documents and money that would be used as evidence in the case.
The individuals were taken before the Public Ministry, where a judge will decide the pre-trial measures against them as suspects of embezzlement, unlawful association, offense of duty, theft and money laundering.
The Ministry additionally investigated another suspect, Herrera-Cantillo, who was not detained despite having a small role in the events under investigation.
According to the Public Ministry, the inquiry began on Oct. 24 after the multimillion-dollar theft was reported in the local news.
During the investigation, anti-corruption officers interviewed witnesses and studied the division where the suspects worked and where the cash was stored.
According to Carlo Díaz, the General Attorney, they found that between Aug. 17 and September 26, 2023, approximately 10 occurrences were documented in which some people got cash (from the bank vault) and put it in envelopes.
The
investigation found that the bank's
controls were clearly ineffective.
Furthermore, it is assumed that bank
authorities failed to report the funds
that were missing on Oct. 3, the day
they became aware of the issues.
"The longer it takes to alert the judicial authorities (about an illegal act), the more difficult it will be to recover evidence that allows the authorities to establish the existence of an illegal act," the Public Ministry said in a statement.
The stolen money was discovered after control department professionals reviewed the accounting books and compared the results to the real money stored in vaults.
Agents were able to discover the alleged use of the stolen money during the investigation. They believe the suspects obtained high-value assets. It was also discovered that enormous sums of money were spent on gambling, such as the purchase of large quantities of lottery tickets.
"These activities were intended to give a legal appearance to the money allegedly stolen," the Public Ministry said.
According to the bank, they discovered the anomaly in early October when a suspected malfunction in the accounting system was discovered. This might have been utilized to conceal the missing funds worth millions.
The bank first discovered the problem through a glitch with the internal control systems, namely a difference of more than $6 million between the real money saved by the bank and the money recorded in the accounting system.
"Allegedly, a simulation occurred in the accounting records," said the bank's manager, Jaime Murillo Viquez. "But that is part of the investigation process that we have to carry out."
The bank guarantees consumers that any potential loss of funds would not affect their bank accounts.
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