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Court Orders
Former President Calderón
Cannot Leave
Costa Rica
The ties and connections otothe
Fischel Corporation to the Caja
Costarricense de Seguro Social (CCSS)
have seen the president of the
Caja, Eliso Vargas, resign his
post and the CCSS board of
directors replaced; the
president of the Corporacion
Fishchel Walter Reiche Fischel ,
and his lawyer, behind bars in
preventive detention; and the
payment of $440.000 dollars to
former president Rafael Ángel
Calderón.
Telenoticias
(local channel 7 news) revealed
on Saturday that the money were
transferred from Harcourt
Holding de Panamá, which is
presided by Reiche, to the
company Sultana Panamá, which is
controlled by Calderón.
The funds were from a credit
from Finland that was for the
purchase of medical equipment
for the CCSS, of which thousands
of dollars ended up in the hands
of politicians and public
functionaries.
Telenoticias reported that in
addition to the Calderón
payment, it also uncovered
payments made to Fischel Olman
Valverde, financial manager for
Fischel, who received $30.000.
Another $270.000 was used to buy
"cashiers" cheques, which were
distributed to various people.
Alfonso Guardia, a cousin of
former president Calderón,
received payment of $80.000.
Guardia told Telenoticias by
telephone that he had cashed the
cheque and made a payment to
Gloria Bejarano Calderón, wife
of the ex-president.
The Harcourt money also went to
Gerardo Bolaños Alpizar, former
director of the board of the
CCSS, $20.000. His wife, Ligia
María Céspedes Álvarez, received
$90.000.
Carlos Sánchez Arguedas, former
manager for the modernization of
the CCSS received $30.000 by way
of his company, Comedica. His
wife, Dr. Patricia Ramírez
Ugalde, received $20.000, which
was part of the commission that
approved purchases for the CCSS
labs and clinics.
Ugalde's sister and sister in
law to the former manager,
Margarita Rodríguez Ugalde,
receievd $20.000. And Melvin
Sánchez Villalobos, an Arguedas
family member and also employee
at the CCSS received $20.000.
As the Telenoticias
investigation continues, a San
José court restricted the
movements of former president
Rafael Ángel Calderón Fournier.
The measure was asked by the
prosecutor's office for "Delitos
Económicos, Tributarios y de
Corrupción" on Sunday morning,
after opening a criminal case
against the ex-president.
The court order means that the
former president cannot leave
Costa Rica while the
investigation into his
connection to the Panamanian
corporation is cleared up, which
according to the the
ex-president's sister, María del
Rosario Calderón, Rafael Ángel
solely managed the company.
The whole mess started when the
Finnish Ambassador in Nicaragua
offered a $32 Million Dollar
credit for the purchase of
medical equipment by the Caja
Costarricense del Seguro Social
(CCSS).
The credit was later extended to
$37 Million Dollars, with the
condition that at least one half
of the equipment would be
purchased from Finland.
The credit was approved in
December of 2001 by the
Legislative Assembly in only
three days of debates,
spearheaded by then deputy and
chief of the Unidad
Socialcristiana (PUSC) party,
Eliseo Vargas.
The contract was awarded to the
Fischel Corporation,
representing Datex Ohmeda of
Finland.
Eliseo Vargas became president
of the CCSS during the Pacheco
administration, which is when
the credit from Finland was
paid.
Vargas resigned his presidency
at the CCSS when it was
discovered that he was renting a
luxurious home in Parque Valle
del Sol in Santa Ana, owned by
Marchwood Holdings, a company
managers by Walter Reiche.
Shortly thereafter, President
Pacheco replaced the CCSS board
of directors and announced a new
president on a temporary basis.
Walter Reiche, president of the
Corporacion Fischel and his
lawyer are currently in the San
Sebastain jail on preventive
detention while the Fiscalia
(prosecutor's office)
investigates.
Call for a Strong Revenue
Minister
The Costa Rican
Chamber of Commerce and other
business leaders are asking the
Pacheco government to appoint a
"strong" Ministro de Hacienda
(Revenue Minister), who will
maintain a police of low
government expenditures and has
the ability to manager the
country's financial deficit.
Alberto Dent resigned the post
last week following the
government's decision to give
public employees and additional
0.05% increase in salaries for
this half of the year, without
his prior approval or
consultation.
The business community is
uncertain of the economic and
political heading of the country
following the Dent resignation
and the resignation of Ronulfo
Jiménez, coo-rdinador of the
Consejo Económico (Economic
Counsel). Other regignations are
being rumoured.
A strong economic leader is a
must to put order back to the
public finances, explained Evita
Arguedas, president of the
Cámara de Comercio (Chamber of
Commerce).
Banco Elca Depositors Wait for
Good News
Depositors with less than
$10.000 on deposit with Banco
Elca may get some good news this
week, as the Asociación Bancaria
Costarricense (ABC), is expected
to announces this week it's
conditions of which depositors
can make withdrawls.
The announcement can come as
early as today or tomorrow.
Banco Elca was intervened by the Superintendencia
General de Entidades Financieras
(SUGEF) on June 29 of this year,
following irregularities
detected in the bank's lending
practices and credit portfolio.
Though the SUGEF is recommending
that the bank be liquidated
after it's failure to negotiate
with a couple of buyers, rumours
are still floating of
negotiations between jailed
Banco Elca president, Carlos
Alvarado and Waterford
Management Inc., who has
interest in buying the failed
bank.
The bank's main offices in La
Sabana, as well as the branches
are open with minimal staff
accepting payments on loans,
credit cards and mortgages
managed by the bank.
CONCACAF SOCCER:
Costa Rica Loses to Guatemala
2-1
PJuan Carlos Plata scored twice
as Guatemala defeated Costa Rica
2-1 in CONCACAF - “The
Confederation of North, Central
America and Caribbean
Association Football” -
World Cup qualifying on Sunday.
Although Costa Rica led early on
Alonso Solis' goal in the 24th
minute, the team had to play
with 10 men for most of the game
after forward Andy Herron was
ejected in the 16th.
Herron was expelled for elbowing
Gustavo Cabrera.
Guatemala capitalized on the man
advantage in the second half as
Carlos Ruiz delivered a pass to
Plata to level the score nine
minutes after the interval.
For the winner, Mynor Davila fed
Plata, whose shot ricocheted off
the post. But he sent in the
rebound in the 72nd.
The win lifted Guatemala to the
top of Group B ahead of its
match against Honduras on
Wednesday, when Costa Rica faces
Canada.
Costa Rica, which played in the
2002 World Cup, dropped to last
place in the group. |
