Last Friday the 14th, the Asunción Anti-Corruption Fiscal Unit and the Department against Organized Crime of the National Police raided the Caazapá Governorate, administered by Pedro “Pipo” Díaz Verón (ANR, related to Velázquez). This, after allegations of alleged embezzlement of Covid-19 funds for more than US$2 million.
Osmar Legal, anti-corruption prosecutor, was in charge of leading the operation. It is presumed that the modus operandi was through the overinvoicing of works.
In this way, Caazapá joins Central and Canindeyú, which were also denounced for the alleged embezzlement of resources from the Emergency Law.
ESPINOLA
Last Wednesday, January 5, the Permanent Commission approved a request for reports from the 17 governorates on the destination of the US$ 2 million that each one received, within the framework of the health emergency.
This, as a result of the complaints that weighed on Central and Canindeyú, considering that the operation of the Prosecutor’s Office and the National Police at the headquarters of the Caazapá government had not yet been carried out.
The governorates had until last Wednesday the 19th to respond (15 days), however, they did not submit their reports.
The promoters of the report request were Kattya González, deputy of the National Encounter party (PEN), in addition to Édgar Acosta and Teófilo Espínola, both Liberal deputies.
Given the refusal of the governments, Espínola said that it is not the first time that the institutions do not respond to the requirements of Congress. In this case to the Chamber of Deputies.
“We have already had similar events. Let’s keep iterating. This is public information that must be transparent. There are many doubts and suspicions. What we need is for the resources provided by the emergency to be transparent,” he reported.
When asked about the increase in the number of governments that carried out an irregular management of these resources, he stated that this generates discomfort and mistrust in the citizenry.
“They are resources of all citizens, of the Paraguayan people. That is why we are demanding. We must help because we are a control body,” he said.
CONTEXT
On November 1, Hugo Javier González, governor of Central (ANR), was charged by the Public Ministry for the alleged embezzlement of those resources from the Emergency Law. This is G. 5,100 million (of the G. 6,400 million that it received as emergency resources during 2020).
The sum was given to the Comprehensive Center for Professional Support Foundation (CIAP), for carrying out public works. What is striking is that the works only appeared several weeks after the accusation.
Something similar happened in December with César “Tigre” Ramírez, governor of Canindeyú. The former soccer player and current Colorado Chartist politician is accused of disbursing G. 5,100 million to the NGO Asociación Pro Desarrollo del Norte to carry out public works.
In this case, what is striking is that said entity was barely founded six months earlier. However, it was benefited with a millionaire contract.
