The Diario Libre looked at HE Capital, SA and found the company very wanting. The newspaper?s headline for today says the company that was allegedly interested in purchasing US$500 million worth of Central Bank Certificates only generated US$74,648 in all of 2003. In the year 2001, the total financial activity of the company fell short of US$100,000. The company called itself ?Canadian? in the interviews it gave to the press after meeting with President Mejia at the Presidential Palace, but now turns out to be located in the touristic city of Sosua, on the North Coast of the Dominican Republic. As first reported in the DR1 Business Forum, the company claims to have no offices either in Canada or any other place. The executives of HE Capital who were escorted into the Presidential offices by former PRD Senator Enrique Lopez were Richard Smith, Thomas Sharp and Keith King. At least one of the trio is reported to have serious problems with monetary authorities in Europe. See http://www.kycnews.com/Press/2000/00-x13.htm and http://www.siliconinvestor.com/stocktalk/msg.gsp?msgid=18674184. Both Eligio Jaquez, the head of the PPH re-election movement, and Radhames Rodriguez Valerio, the administrator of the Agricultural Bank, were listed as representatives of HE Capital at a Euromoney seminar held in Casa de Campo last year.
President Mejia praised the offer from the HE Capital group as an example of the confidence his government generates in investors.