The Central Bank and the Superintendence of Banks presented the Attorney General with a suit against six former executives and one board of directors? member of the Banco Mercantil in connection with a RD$6.5-billion fraud that allegedly took place in 2002 and 2003. The scam supposedly occurred prior to the purchase of the majority Mercantil?s shares by the Republic Bank Limited of Trinidad and Tobago on 8 October 2003. As reported in El Caribe, prior to the purchase the bank was suffering from liquidity problems and received financial assistance from the Central Bank, which at the time sought to ensure the stability of the financial and banking system. The lawyers say a sizeable part of that money was instead used by the principal executives of the bank and its board of directors for their personal gain. The individuals mentioned in the legal filing are Andres Aybar, the president of the bank from 1989-2003; Evelyn Perez Montandon, the vice-president of management and finances; Ramon Aref Henriquez Risk, the vice-president of operations and technology; Jose Manuel Mateo Conreras, the vice-president of auditing and security; Rafael Maximiliano Moya Hernandez, the vice-president of financial controls and Eduardo Jacinto Alejandro de Castro Sanchez, the former president of Mercantil?s board of directors.