The director of the Instituto Nacional de la Vivienda (INVI), Juan Antonio Vargas, admitted on television that the administrative procedure to issue five checks for RD$4 million in the names of five low-ranking employees for the repair of dwellings was not correct. He ensured that nobody stole the money for personal use. He confirmed the checks were cashed by five high-ranking officers of the department but that the funds were used for the original purpose of repairing the homes of low income persons. He said he sent proof of this to the Attorney General and National Controller’s Department when the investigation was opened following the case being aired on Nuria Piera’s investigative journalism program on Channel 13. “I will not defend the method used, what I am defending is how the money was spent and all the documents substantiate this,” he said while complaining that Piera had damaged his reputation.
