The Dominican government announced on Thursday, 23 January 2025 that it has initiated the assessment of approximately 6,000 assets, including real estate and personal property, seized in operations against money laundering, drug trafficking, corruption, and other serious crimes, Diario Libre reports. These assets, which are set to be auctioned, include furniture, real estate, vehicles, aircraft, and precious jewelry, among other “items of great economic value.”
The announcement was made at a press conference at the headquarters of the National Treasury by Treasurer Luis Rafael Delgado Sánchez and Manuel Oviedo Estrada, executive director of the National Institute for the Custody and Administration of Seized, Confiscated and Forfeited Assets (Incabide). The two officials signed an inter-institutional agreement to ensure the security and preservation of these assets.
Officials stated that the agreement will enable more efficient management of asset custody, ensuring both the preservation of their economic value and their physical condition. This is in compliance with Law 60-23, which provides the legal framework for Incabide.
Delgado Sánchez emphasized that the agreement aligns with Law 567-05, which designates the National Treasury as responsible for the registration and custody of funds and securities. This will optimize the Dominican state’s custody processes and facilitate international cooperation.
For its part, Incabide committed to delivering the assets to personnel designated by the National Treasurer, accompanied by a detailed inventory, and to providing complete information about the items delivered and notifying of any required cleaning or maintenance processes.
According to information provided by officials and published on the Incabide website, the assets include those from several high-profile cases, such as the “Calamar” case, which involves alleged administrative corruption. In this case, a commercial property in the National District, three apartments, 22 plots of land in Higüey, La Vega, and Villa Altagracia, a villa in La Romana, and a house in the capital will be valued.
The “Quirino Ernesto Paulino Castillo” case, dating back to 2019, involves eight farms in San Juan de la Maguana, and a building, a house, and another building in the National District. Additionally, the international drug trafficking case of César Emilio Peralta, alias “César el Abusador,” includes three apartments, one in the National District and two in Santo Domingo East.
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Diario Libre
27 January 2025