Attorney General Miriam Germán will be directly handling several leading corruption cases previously managed by the National District prosecutor Rosalba Ramos.
Attorney General German Brito states that the Public Prosecutor’s Office is taking all necessary measures to guarantee the effective prosecution of corruption cases with efficient results.
One of the high-profile cases is that against Berlinesa Franco, former director of the National Institute of Integrated Care for Early Childhood (INAIPI). INAIPI is under investigation for irregularities in purchasing after a businessman presented evidence of a tender mismanagement. Businessman Pablo Cabrera denounced on El Informe con Alicia Ortega that INAIPI was paying RD$2,500 for what was worth no more than RD$600. As a result, Franco resigned from the position.
In a statement, Attorney General Miriam Germán Brito explained that the effort is part of a re-engineering at the office to ensure the prosecution of the cases strictly follows the legal procedures. The Attorney General said that corruption cases in the Dominican Republic have been investigated and prosecuted in an isolated manner and without the necessary actions required for complex crime cases.
Other cases mentioned are those of administrative corruption of the Metropolitan Office of Bus Services (OMSA) involving Manuel Rivas Faustino, the case of corruption at the State Sugar Council (CEA), when under Pedro César Mota Pacheco. Also, the case submitted by Somos Pueblo against Jose del Castillo; and others presented by Guido Gomez Mazara against Ricardo Andres Castillo Terrero and Gonzalo Castillo and Helidosa Aviation.
Evelyn de la Cruz García, presidente de Dominican Alliance Against Corruption (Adocco) said the decision is a positive step in the combatting of corruption and impunity in government, as reported in Diario Libre.
Read more in Spanish:
Listin Diario
El Caribe
1 September 2020