Major headlines in newspapers and digital platforms throughout the week centered on what the Justice Department (Ministerio Publico) calls “Operation Owl,” (Operación Buho), the investigation into a RD$2.5 billion fraud at a major savings and loan cooperative in the densely populated Herrera industrial area of Santo Domingo province.
According to reports, more than 20 prosecutors, nearly 100 police officers, and a dozen special agents are taking part in the case. Coop-Herrera is the focus of the investigation, and seven of the financial entity’s executives are now under arrest. The Justice Department is seeking that they be held without bail until the whole investigation is finished.
Currently, the charges against the group are criminal association, forgery of documents, and identity theft. Money laundering and abuse of public trust are also charges that are being documented at this time.
Authorities have already confiscated vehicles, yachts and properties that “belonged” to those accused. According to the digital platform of investigative journalist Nuria Piera, at least 120 persons and commercial entities with ties to Gabriel Santana Borsiela, one of the accused, are alleged to have made deposits and obtained certificates of deposit that were used to obtain loans.
According to the Institute for Cooperative Development and Credit (Idecoop), the administration of Coop-Herrera approved loans without the proper processes. Idecoop notes that at one point, of the coop’s RD$4.64 billion in fixed deposits, RD$3.09 billion belonged to Gabriel Santana Borsiela. This case will only get more interesting as the days go by.
Read more in Spanish:
N Digital
Listin Diario
Listin Diario
Listin Diario
9 October 2023