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Panama
Delivers Documents
The Ministerio
Público has now in it's hands
the Panamanian banking documents
that ties the movement of monies
of the company controlled by
former president Rafael Angel
Calderón to the Fischel scandal.
The documents were received
yesterday afternoon by Costa
Rican officials, delivered to
them from their Panamanian
counterparts.
La Procuradora General de La
Republica "officially" received
the documents and immediately
handed them over to the
Ministerio Público without
opening the package they came
in.
The documents contain banking
and related information about
the companies controlled by
Walter Reiche Fischel and
Calderón, which is expected to
detail movements and transfers
of monies between the
Corporacion Fischel and Calderón,
with respect to a multi million
dollar loan from the government
of Finland, destined for the
Caja Costarricense de Seguro
Social (CCSS).
Eliso Vargas, former president
of the CCSS, was arrested on
Thursday for his role in
accepting monies from Fischel,
while Fischel's Reiche and
company lawyer have been in
preventing detention for months,
while the Ministerio Público
investigates.
The records are expected to
confirm that Marchwood Holding,
a Panamanian corporation that is
headed by Walter Reiche Fischel,
and having no assets registered
in Panama nor in Costa Rica, has
been receiving an paying out
large sums of monies to and from
companies in Costa Rica and
Panama.
Prosecutors believe the money is
part of the funds provided as
loan to the CCSS from the
government of Finland. The
documents are to either confirm
or discard that assumption.
Some of the questions being
asked and answers are being
sought by officials, is why did
former president receive a
commission on the Finland loan?
Rafael Angel Calderón has so far
only said that the money
transfers between Fischel and
his company, Sultana S.A., also
a Panamanian registered
corporation, is all legal and
correct.
Calderón was formally informed
by the Tribunals that he is
restricted from leaving the
country, even though the order
was in existence since last
Sunday.
Tax Men Charged With Abuse of
Minors
Two tax collectors who worked at
the Contraloría General de la
República (Comptroller's office)
were detained yesterday
afternoon by police for abusing
minors, including threatening
the youths and photographing
them in the nude.
The arrest was made by agents of
the Organismo de Investigación
Judicial (OIJ) in Limón at a
luxury hotel.
The two men, were identified
only by their last names, Cortés,
45 years of age and Fernández,
who is 30 years old.
The men will be held for six
months in preventive detention
while the prosecutor's office
investigates the case further.
The complaints were made to the
OIJ by the victims, who appeared
before police on Wednesday to
make a statement. Some of the
victims were as young as 15.
The young girls say their were
approached by the two men in the
center of Limón, driving in a
luxurious vehicle, offered the
¢50.000 colones to pose nude for
a magazine. The girls say they
refused the offer, but were
forced at knife point by the men
to get in the car and were taken
to a room where their pictures
were taken and raped.
The two suspects were in the
Limón area on "official"
business, reviewing customs
agencies in the port town.
Police confiscated the knife the
men allegedly used, a digital
camera containing fotos of the
girls and a portable computer
used to download the images.
Porn in the Legislature
While legislators
have been working on developing
a Law that prohibits pornography
over the internet, some in the
Legislative Assembly building
are taking the time to enjoy
this form of entertainment.
A report by the Spanish daily
newspaper, Diario Extra, shows
that that is the case.
Information revealed by the
Departamento de Informática del
Primer Poder de la República al
Directorio Legislativo, shows
that access to pornography over
the internet is accessed by all
the different parties that
occupy space in the legislative
building, save the Renovación
Costarricense and the Partido
Independiente.
Some of the websites visited by
members of the legislature,
include: Jovencitasonline.com,
Idsexo.net, Fantasiasmiguel.com,
Sexo-raro.com, Lesbianas18.com,
Tetas-tetas.com, Sexo-diario.com,
Adulsexmovie.net,
Bigpornvideos.com, Sexoguia.com
and Gaycostarica.com.
Higher Inflation
The inflation for
the 12 months that ended in
August reached 13.05 percent,
the highest since May 2001, when
it was 13.26 percent.
The increase in consumer prices
for August was 0.97 percent,
taking the overall figure for
the first eight months this year
to 8.68 percent.
Most analysts agree that the
goal set by the Central Bank, 11
percent for the year 2004, is
growing ever more distant.
Domestic Tourism
During the current "green
season" - the low one regarding
visitors from abroad, which
continues through the end of
November - an increasing number
of Costa Ricans are enjoying the
local attractions, tourist
sector sources report.
However, they also explain that
there is evident less spending
by domestic tourists, who are
the victims of high inflation,
and who, for example, resort to
snacks and other means in order
to stay within their budget by
not visiting restaurants.
In a joint effort by private
business and the Costa Rican
Board of Tourism (ICT in
Spanish), a campaign has been
launched to promote the visit of
Costa Ricans to the many
enjoyable places the country
boasts of, the sources added.
Sports Betting
Industry Anticipates Record
Numbers
The start of the
39th NFL football season kicks
off today, and BetUS.com, based
in San José, is well
prepared to tackle what
it expects to be the biggest
season in offshore sports
wagering history.
BetUS.com is one of the
industry's leading sportsbooks
and people to
legally place wagers on live
sporting events from
anywhere in the world.
Members can enjoy
wagering on some of their
favorite sports,
including: professional
football, basketball, baseball,
hockey and boxing.
BetUS.com is the only sportsbook
to be licensed and bonded in two
recognized
gaming jurisdictions - Costa
Rica, by the Costa Rican
government, and the
Kahnawake Gaming Commission
based in the Mohawk Indian
reserve near Montreal,
Canada.
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