The network that operated in Noblía to process driving licenses is large
The Tacuarembó Police Headquarters had already initiated a parallel investigation related to this case.
The case of fraudulent driving licenses in Villa Noblía ceased to be a local issue to become one of the greatest recent scandals in Cerro Largo. The literate prosecutor of the second turn, Dr. Letizia Siqueira, revealed that the maneuver worked since the beginning of the system in that town and that involved systematic payments of money to municipal officials through intermediaries.
What seemed like a simple administrative procedure was transformed into a network that facilitated the obtaining of notebooks without controls, without theoretical or practical evidence, and without the minimum guarantee of road safety. “There were clearly undue payments,” The prosecutor said. “We have transfers records in different financial entities that demonstrate how money circulated from applicants to intermediaries, and from these officials,” Siqueira explained at a press conference.
The mechanism: from the window to the financial circuit
The maneuver was as simple as dangerous: an intermediary offered to get the notebook “Without exam.” In return, he received sums of money that later derived to officials of the Mayor’s Office. This flow was documented in bank listings seized by the Prosecutor’s Office, which today constitute the central evidence of the case.
The existence of these records disarms any attempt to relativize the fact: there was systematic corruption in a small municipality, but with sufficient permeability to become the focus of a national operation.
The first formalized and the chain of arrests
On Monday the formalization of five people was completed: three officials of the Mayor’s Office of Noblía and two individuals. Two of them meet preventive detention for 180 days, while the other three were in total house arrest under electronic control.
They are: ARBDF for a crime of association to commit crimes, repeated crimes of ideological falsification in public document All in real reiteration, must fulfill the penalty of preventive detention for 180 days, until February 16, 2025.
Yipe for a crime of association to commit crimes, repeated crimes of qualified bribery, all in real reiteration, as a precautionary measure must fulfill total house arrest and ankle placement until February 16.
EMR must fulfill a precautionary measure of house arrest for 180 days for a crime of association to commit crimes, repeated crimes of qualified bribery and repeated crimes of ideological falsification in public document all in real reiteration.
GEBC must comply with precautionary measures of total house arrest with ankle placement for 180 days for the crime of association to commit crimes, repeated crimes of ideological falsification in public document, all for real repetition.
Llp d. S must be in pretrial detention for a crime of association to commit crimes, repeated crimes of qualified bribery and repeated crimes of ideological falsification in public document, all in real reiteration.
Case had intermediaries that charged with ramifications in Tacuarembó and beyond
It seemed like a reduced circle was extended in a few hours: the prosecutor confirmed the arrest of at least ten more people, from various departments, which will be led to justice. “We are facing a network that exceeds the local and that includes intermediaries and beneficiaries in various parts of the country,” he said.
One of the most revealing data is the link with the department of Tacuarembó. There the Headquarters already worked in parallel on similar complaints, detecting citizens traveling to Noblía to obtain the license or who directly acted as third -party managers.
This research crossing shows that the operation was not limited to Cerro Largo. The ease of accessing the notebook in Noblía, compared to the most demanding controls in other departments, generated a constant flow of external applicants.
The risk dimension: road safety at play
Beyond administrative corruption, the case naked an even greater problem: transit security.
Hundreds of people could be circulating today with notebooks obtained without accrediting basic management knowledge. “We are talking about drivers who never paid evidence, who do not know how to react on the route or in the city, and that represent a real danger to the population,” Siqueira warned.
In a country where traffic accidents constitute one of the main causes of death and injuries, the data is not less. Each license granted without control is equivalent to enabling an inexperienced potential to handle a vehicle in risky conditions.
Suspense responsibilities
A key point is to determine how far the knowledge of local authorities came. The prosecutor clarified that, for now, the eventual responsibility of the Municipal Council of Noblía is not defined. “The investigation advances step by step. We are clear that there were money turns and that these funds reached municipal officials. The rest will be defined with the evidence that arises,” pointed out.
Nor did he rule out that the investigation can reach areas of the Municipality of Cerro Largo if new elements arise. The institutional scope is still unknown.
Precautionary measures and procedural risks
Preventive prison measures and house arrest were adopted based on procedural risks: possibility of escape, destruction of evidence or inquiry of the investigation. “In cases of criminal organization it is essential to ensure that the accused do not interfere with the cause,” The prosecutor justified.
The criterion aims to shield an investigation that just begins and that could be branched more than expected.
A network with organization characteristics
The Prosecutor’s Office charged, among other crimes, the association to commit crimes, which marks a qualitative leap. It is not isolated cases of corruption, but of a framework that operated as a network with defined roles: who sought the notebook, the intermediaries they charged, and the officials who facilitated the process.
This scheme raises a disturbing question: how many of the notebooks today were obtained in this way? The answer is not yet in the hands of justice, but preliminary figures suggest dozens or even hundred fraudulent licenses.
Border and external factors
Asked about the incidence of closeness with Brazil, Siqueira did not rule out that the border has facilitated movements and contacts. However, he preferred not to advance conclusions. “There are multiple aspects at stake that we still cannot reveal. The important thing is that we are taking the first step in the judicial field,” affirmed.
The allusion to the border awakens another question: could there be Brazilian citizens involved in the maneuver? For now there is no confirmation, but the hypothesis is not ruled out.
Next steps
The investigation will continue in the next few days with statements, documentation analysis and expertise on financial records. The new detainees will be formalized and, in parallel, the review of the notebooks issued in Noblía will begin in recent years.
The prosecutor was clear at one point: the beneficiaries of these maneuvers will also be investigated. It is not just corrupt officials, but also those who bought a license knowing that the procedure was fraudulent.
“If someone circulates with a notebook obtained without evidence, it is complicit in fraud and must give explanations,” Siqueira warned.
A case that just begins
The noblía scandal opens a judicial, political and social front. Judicial, because it involves serious crimes against public administration. Political, because it questions the transparency of municipal and departmental management. And social, because it exposes the fragility of a system that should guarantee route security and ended up becoming an illegal business.
“This is just the beginning of an investigation that will continue. There is much to discover yet,” The prosecutor concluded.
