PLN ex-treasurer claims campaign payments were legal

SAN JOSE, COSTA RICA – August 28th, 2012 – The ex-treasurer of the PLN ( Partido Liberacion Nacional – National Liberation Party ) campaign, and current director of the Central American Economic Integration Bank (BCIE), Walter Bolanos, denied all allegations of illegal payments made by the group in the 2010 electoral process in a hearing held yesterday.

Bolanos responded patiently to almost all questions posed by the legislative committee, created specifically to investigate the financing of the last campaign. He refrained from providing details in regards to the accusations filed by the Supreme Electoral Court (TSE, in Spanish) before the Public Ministry, in which the electoral authorities implicate him with charging 400 million colones for campaign expenses through questionable transportation contracts for the PLN.

Bolanos responded, “the procedure that we followed for the transportation payments is completely legal and I do not (accept), under any circumstances, that they should be considered fraudulent or incorrect.”

Bolanos, who was accompanied by his attorney, German Mora, recounted his duties as treasurer and stated that he “ thoroughly investigated that every donor or bonds purchaser be of integrity.”

He added, “in all cases, there was genuine interest in collaborating with Mrs. Laura Chinchilla’s campaign.”

He also denied that his party ever used “parallel” accounts to manage funds for the presidential campaign.

On Monday, the ex chief of the campaign, Rene Castro, must testify as well. Rene is currently Environment and Energy minister.