August 9, 2024, 10:58 PM
August 9, 2024, 10:58 PM
Through a statement, the Office of the Attorney General (PGE) reported on the million-dollar fine imposed on the former municipal secretary of Administration and Finance, Sandra Velarde. This is in the context of the irregular contracts case.
“The State Attorney General’s Office informs the public that, within the claim for damages arising from the criminal conviction sentence imposed against Santa Velarde for the ‘irregular contracts’, (…) declaring the case proven by imposing on the sentence the payment for the concept of civil compensation for a total amount of Bs 32,493,970 in favor of the Autonomous Municipal Government of Santa Cruz de la Sierra,” the document states.
He added that “the PGE, acting in accordance with the powers granted by the Constitution and the current legal system, has promoted this criminal action and the consequent civil reparation action in a responsible manner, obtaining an unprecedented and favorable result.”
She has already been sentenced
Sandra Velarde Casal was sentenced on December 22, 2022 to three years in prison after undergoing an abbreviated trial and accepting her guilt in the economic damage of Bs 25.6 million due to the case of irregular contracts.
The case called ‘irregular contracts’ investigates the Irregular hiring of 1,205 people during the electoral campaign period for the 2021 municipal seatthat is, during the last phase of the management of Santa Cruz Para Todos (SPT), headed by Angélica Sosa. This would have generated an economic damage of 25.6 million bolivianos, according to the Santa Cruz Mayor’s Office.
It is known that the situation was reported by Mayor Jhonny Fernández on May 28, 2021, against the former mayor, Angélica Sosa, the former Secretary of Finance, Sandra Velarde and the former Director of Human Resources, Javier Cedeño, for undue influence, uneconomic conduct, breach of duty, illegal appointments, material and ideological falsehood.
More involved
The former director of Human Resources of the Santa Cruz Mayor’s Office, Javier Abraham Cedeño Catacora, In December 2022, he requested to go to an abbreviated trial for the case called ‘irregular contracts’res, as well as Sandra Velarde Casal, former Secretary of Finance of the municipality.
For this criminal process, Cedeño was charged with the alleged crimes of undue use of influence, uneconomic conduct, breach of duty, illegal appointments, material falsehood and ideological falsehood.
