Judge Kenya Romero ordered former Danilo Medina’s former Hacienda Minister Donald Guerrero and Administrative Minister of the Presidency Jose Ramon Peralta to jail at Najayo giving 18 months to the state prosecutors to present the formal accusation statements. Former minister of Public Works and former ruling Dominican Liberation Party (PLD) presidential candidate Gonzalo Castillo was sentenced with domiciliary arrest, RD$20 million in bail and impediment to leave the country.
For the other 20 or so accused in the case, the judge ordered bail, domiciliary arrest and impediment to leave the country.
The accusations are part of the Squid Operation (Operacion Calamar) that focuses on three significant corruption schemes that revolved around overpayments in the cases of state expropriations, bribes and extortions of illegal betting operations and gambling machines in colmados and State Sugar Council deals. The prosecutors say that the accused scammed the government of RD$19 billion. Reportedly, RD$3 billion were delivered to Gonzalo Castillo for his 2020 presidential campaign.
The prosecutors at the Anti-Corruption Agency (Pepca) prepared a file of around 3,000 pages that was for the most part released to the general public, contrary to the correct practice of the law. This has led to Dominican society’s judging of the accused years before the case actually goes to court.
Corruption legal expert, Remberto Pichardo speculates that the lengthiness of the file will lead to the case dragging on to at least five years and doubts the outcome of the cases will be in proportion to the scam to the state. He explains in an interview with Jose Peguero that the prosecutors instead of the 3,000 page file could have made a short case, honing in on just a few ineludible corruption acts to accuse the men and fast track the corruption case. In the Dominican Republic, there is no such thing as accumulating crime penalties.
In the interview with Jose Peguero, Reemberto Pichardo gives details on one of the main whistleblowers, Ramon Emilio (Mimilo) Jimenez Collie. He is the son of a former Commander of the Navy. Jimenez Collie says he has been a supplier to the government since 1977. He is best known as an “urban legend” for his lavish style of living and loving, and his prowess as a major government supplier and contractor over the years, with insights into how the government works. Pichardo also questions why Ministry of Hacienda deputy minister Frixo Messina has not been charged in the Operation Squid, after he is mentioned several times by the whistleblowers.
Most of those accused in the case have declared they are guilty and then served as whistleblowers sharing details on the operations to scam the state at a billionaire cost to taxpayers. The whistleblowers explained how the state bank BanReservas paid out billions in cash that was distributed by the BanReservas trucks to the same locations in Santo Domingo, including the house (La Casita) where Brazilian Joao Santana and his son (of Odebrecht fame) lived. Billions were said to be delivered to Gonzalo Castillo for campaigning in the 2020 presidential campaign.
Despite their leading participation in the crimes, the whistleblowers are striking deals that include and exclude people, but what their penalties will be is not known yet. Most of those that have participated in the plea bargains have been doing major questionable business with the state for years. The difference now is that with the releasing of the files in the preliminary phase of the trial, the information on the modus operandi is in the open.
In its coverage on the case, El Dia reports that there are people missing in the Operation Squid and that the prosecutors have been selective in who they have presented charges against.
Former President Danilo Medina flew to Miami, Florida on Tuesday, 4 April the day of the announcement of the jail sentences for his former ministers.
Gonzalo Castillo is investigated for major irregularities in the purchase of asphalt when he was minister of Public Works. News commentators say that Jose Ramon Peralta is also under investigation in the possible next major scandal, that of the Surprise Visits Program, a mega social program executed during the Danilo Medina administration.
Diario Libre puts in perspective the scope of the corruption in government. The newspaper points out that the corruption cases are adding up to much more than the budgeted allotments of several government ministries. So far, persons accused cases being heard in the judiciary add up to around RD$30 billion. Diario Libre points out that the budget allotments of the Ministry of Hacienda is RD$21.7 billion; the Ministry of Foreign Relations is RD$11.5 billion; the Ministry of Sports is RD$3.1 billion; Ministry of Agriculture is RD$15.1 billion.
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Diario Libre
Diario Libre
Diario Libre
Esta Misma Semana
Nuria
Altagracia Salazar sin maquillaje
Diario Libre
Jose Peguero
Diario Libre
Diario Libre
El Dia
Edith Febles – La Cosa Como Es
DR1 News
10 April 2023