Lawyer Coralia Martínez says she is a victim of abuse of power after she uncovered alleged fraud for more than a RD$1 billion in cases involving officers at the Ministry of Public Works and the National Housing Institute (Invi).
As reported in Somos Pueblo, the scheme was to get tax-free status approved for a low-cost housing project and then build luxury residential units. The scheme was implemented in upscale neighborhoods such as Naco (National District) and Bávaro (Punta Cana).
The lawyer was hired by the Dominican Architects & Engineers Guild (Codia) to investigate the cases. She explained that early on, Codia publicly denounced violations of the trust law scheme for the low-cost housing developments. As reported, Martínez would win several cases against the Ministry of Public Works. But, as reported in Somos Pueblo, former Public Works Minister Gonzalo Castillo then met with the president of the Codia and she was told to stop the investigations.
The lawyer says Codia now does not want to pay her for her work in processing the cases. She says that Attorney General Jean Alain Rodríguez has filed away the cases submitted to the judiciary.
Meanwhile, as reported, the Tax Agency (DGII) validated the investigations and of 300 low-cost housing projects investigated, 235 were rejected as such and taxes collected.
Martínez told Somos Pueblo the fraud case could be bigger moneywise than Odebrecht scandal.
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Somos Pueblo
19 August 2019