Government judicial officials are focusing on the route followed for the payment of a RD$9 million check cashed by engineer Alberto Jana Tactuk for a debt regarding the construction of the Avenida Jacobo Majluta in the north of Santo Domingo. The avenue, begun in the government of former President Joaquín Balaguer and whose high cost over two governments has not ever been established, is a shambles due to construction problems. News reports say that the check was issued to the Ministry of Public Works and was irregularly endorsed and cashed by the firm Constructores y Promotores Asociados y/o Alberto Jana Tactuk. El Siglo newspaper pointed out that the order to issue the check was given at 3 pm on 15 August, the last day of the Fernández administration. News reports say the check was issued at 11:40 pm that evening, and cashed next day at the Banco de Reservas. An investigation carried out by the Police points to fraud and falsification of documents during the procedure, including the erasing of a note that established that the payment of the check by the Bank was authorized by former director of the Banco de Reservas, George Manuel Hazoury. The procedure to cash the check supposedly violated several procedures and is yet another proof of the lack of accounting controls on behalf of the Dominican state. El Siglo says that the check that was issued by the National Treasury should have been deposited in the Ministry of Public Works account. The Ministry of Public Works should have issued another check in favor of the engineering company. Engineer Alberto Jana Tactuk, according to El Siglo, admitted in questioning by the Police that he did not have a signed contract with the Ministry of Public Works to build the highway. State defender, lawyer Carlos Balcacer wants Jana Tactuk to return the money to the state. Tactuk has said he has two options: to take the case through its legal stages or to commit suicide.
