Contraloría Considers
Fraud Was Committed In
The Handling Of The
Taiwan Donation
According to the
Contraloría General de
la República (CGR) -
Comptroller's Office,
there exists the
possibility of fraud in
the handling of the
Taiwanese donation to
the Ministerio de
Vivienda.
The statement of a
possible crime was
discussed during a
publis spending
commission meeting, when
Contralora General,
Rocío Aguilar, confirmed
that on Tuesday the CGR
presented a formal
complaint to the
Ministerio Público
following an
investigation into the
trust that held the
funds donated by the
government of Taiwan to
build housing for the
poor.
"It now is up to the
appropriate judicial
authorities to
investigate and sit
through the evidence, as
we have provided the
Ministerio Público with
all the information",
said Aguilar.
The controversy came to
light when it was found
that not all of the
us$2.5 million dollars
donated by the Taiwanese
in 2006 and administered
by the Banco
Centroamericano de
Integración Económica (BCIE)
went to its destined
purpose. Preliminary
reports indicated that
40% of the money was
used to pay consulting
and other fees.
As a result, Fernando
Zumbado, resigned his
post as Ministro de
Vivienda (Housing
minister) after vowing
that the consulting fees
were part of the
original purpose for the
money, however, when he
appeared before a
legislative commission
looking into the case,
Zumbado admitted that
some of the funds had
changed destination.
The government of Taiwan
had made the donation
with the specifc purpose
of providing housing for
the poor in the
community of Rincón
Grande de Pavas, who
residents have taken
legal action against
Costa Rican president,
Oscar Arias, and his
government.
The Contraloría stopped
short of naming names
and the crimes that may
have been committed.
"We can confirm that
there a denouncement had
been filed, that there
has been a deviation of
funds and that Zumbado
decided that the funds
were to be used for
other purposes other
than that intended",
said Sergio Alfaro,
diputado del Partido
Acción Ciudadana (PAC).
The Contraloría
investigation revealed
that the BCIE contracted
a company identified as
CIDH, which was founded
by former minister
Zumbado. It was also
found that Zumbado
contracted for
consultants within weeks
of the Taiwanese handing
over the money, one such
consultant was
identified as an
official of the
ministerio de Vivienda
and also named as an
officer in the Zumbado
corporation.
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