Yesterday afternoon, Monday 29 July 2019, the Attorney General’s Office interrogated José Manuel Guzmán Ibarra, former deputy administrator for government affairs at the Banco de Reservas. Guzmán Ibarra resigned the position he had held from 2004 on 30 June 2019 after investigative journalist Alicia Ortega linked him to the Odebrecht corruption scandal. A business he owns appears to have received funds from the Structured Bribery Division of Odebrecht, the Brazilian construction company that is investigating in a major regional corruption scandal.
On 1 July, Guzmán Ibarra published his resignation letter in his Twitter account stating that he was the only one responsible for his personal decisions and that he had to attend to these matters urgently.
As reported in El Dia, the bank manager said that he was unaware that Odebrecht used the account to pay bribes. He said he offered a service for which he was paid due compensation.
Read more in Spanish:
El Dia
El Dia
Listin Diario
Somos Pueblo
La Voz del PRM
30 July 2019