Minister of Tourism, Felix Jimenez, told El Caribe reporters that his ministry owes more than US$5 million to different agencies in different parts of the world, including Europe, the United States and Canada. Even worse, there have been court sentences condemning the Dominican Republic for non-payment. Apparently, the former administration had run up debts with the Go Up agency and Mondadori in Italy, Levensard Global Network in Gernamy and Startcom in Spain. Also on the list are Unique and Leo Burnet GMBH in Germany. In Italy the UP GO Agency provided furniture and equipment at a cost of US$2 million for the Tourism Office in Milan, and the dispute over the money led to the temporary closure of the office. Former Ministers of Tourism Rafael Subervi and his wife, Miguelina Ortiz de Subervi, claimed that the economic crisis at the time prevented them from paying the debt. Former Finance Minister Rafael Calderon had said that his institution would cover the Tourism Ministry’s outstanding debts.